


The Long Earth

by Anonymous



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Second Person, Past Abuse, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:35:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27713483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: You're a Queen fan living in a dead town in the middle of nowhere. When you manage to get tickets to a Queen + Adam Lambert show, it ends up changing your life, perhaps even fixing it.
Relationships: Brian May/You
Comments: 26
Kudos: 24
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Chapter 1

You felt homesick.

You couldn’t really deny it; even though the past few months had been great, you were really starting to miss your old routine at home, seeing your family, and all that. You missed your mother cooking you breakfast in the morning. You missed going to your old job at the store, catching up with your old high school friends and seeing your neighbors do their morning shopping. Coming home in the evening and play-fighting with your siblings over who got the last popsicle.

But now your life had been turned upside down. It had started the way many a young woman’s life gets turned around- with a Queen + Adam Lambert concert coming to a venue near you. You, being a fan, immediately bought a front row ticket. You even asked your friends to come along, but none of them seemed particularly interested. That was what it was always like, though, you being expected to do everything they wanted and them never returning the favour, so you didn’t really care. You went alone, because you were your own best friend, and you didn’t need anybody else.

You’d even shaved beforehand, and put on lipgloss. You didn’t know why you did it, but it was almost instinctual, and you weren’t going to go against instinct. You asked your mother to bring you to the venue but she declined, saying she didn’t feel like it. She was on the couch, smoking a cigarette. Your brother was in the kitchen reheating dinner. You weren’t that hungry, anyways. You’d get something on the way.

Traffic was hellish, so you ended up not being able to get anything on the way, and you barely even made it to the concert hall in time. It was a shitty concert hall, located in a weird, snowy part of the region you lived in, and it was right near a highway. You wondered why Queen would lower their standards like that. But you didn’t dare doubt them, because you could use the escape.

Standing in the front row, looking at the shiny, polished wooden stage floor, you couldn’t help but think about your own life. It felt selfish to do so, but you couldn’t help it. You always got emotional from going to gigs. The last time, when you were going to see a rock singer you didn’t even like, you cried when you recognized the opening song. And now you were at a Queen concert, and you knew all of their songs. So, of course, you started to think about how miserable you were. How you wished a night like this could last forever (though it hadn’t started yet, and you were pretty hungry). How you wished someone would just whisk you away and take you with them on tour, and they’d never bring you back home ever again. You wouldn’t have to deal with everyone at home yelling at you for taking up space, or your old high school classmates at the store making fun of you for smelling like cigarette smoke all the time. And you could wear the clothes you wanted, instead of the ones you were expected to wear.

The concert started, and you were entranced. Adam’s stage presence was wondrous, and it captivated you like no other. By the time Innuendo was playing you were full on crying, big, ugly tears streaming down your face. You hid your face behind the sleeves of your sweater, not wanting the musicians to see you like that, though, logically, they wouldn’t look at you in the first place. They barely looked into the crowd to begin with, you imagined. Much less at some ugly girl with short hair who was crying, loudly.

You kept listening, and you kept standing. You willed yourself to be silent while Brian, Roger and Adam all said a few words. You didn’t want them to notice you, or worse, comfort you. You didn’t want to be a bother to the members of Queen, a band that you’d loved since you were a little kid. You used to lay in bed at night, listening to Freddie Mercury singing Keep Yourself Alive, and promising to him that you would, you’d do your best for him, as you listened to your parents screaming at each other downstairs. Nowadays they barely spent time in the same room, but you could still see how exhausted your mother was every time she came home, and how angry your father was. But it was okay. It was nothing to worry about. You didn’t want anybody to worry. Especially not the members of Queen.

You were entranced by Brian’s guitar playing skill, by Roger’s immaculate rhythm-keeping, by Adam’s beautiful voice. You understood now why Brian had called him a gift from God. Anybody with such a voice had to be an angel. By the time Keep Yourself Alive came around, your tears had almost dried, and you thought you were going to be fine, but then that song came on and you burst into tears again. God, you felt pathetic. 

Not wanting yourself to become too emotional, you looked away from Adam as he sang, instead focusing on something else. Brian it was, then. Brian was moving along the podium as the song went on, and at one point he walked right by where you stood in the front row, playing his guitar masterfully. You looked up at him, and he looked back at you, and your eyes locked, and oh god he could see you were crying. His smile turned into a frown, and he kept playing, and you kept eye-contact with him because it was such a surreal moment you didn’t know what to do. You had to have an especially pleading look on your face, because he gritted his teeth in sympathy, before moving on, as was necessary for the show. You covered your face with your hands yet again and leaned on the stage with your stomach, embarrassed beyond belief. You were never going to live this down. You just weren’t. You met Brian May and he pitied you.

You watched the rest of the concert. Brian didn’t come as close to the audience anymore, and you didn’t dare make eye contact anymore, afraid you’d have another moment like the last one. In the middle of the setlist there was a break, so everyone shuffled out of the concert hall, on their way to buy overpriced cocktails and sandwiches and whatnot. You stayed behind a bit longer, willing yourself to breathe deeply a few times. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe-

You felt a hand on your shoulder, and looked up. It was Brian, again. He wasn’t on the stage anymore, but on the same level as you. All the other people were gone already. Adam and Roger were on the stage, still, talking to some sound guy. The only reason this was possible was because of how small the venue was, you thought.

“Are you alright?” he asked, and you loved his accent, loved how impossibly soft everything he said sounded though you knew how rough and cool he could be while on the guitar. Right now he was sweet, and kind, and he’d walked downstairs only because he wanted you to feel okay. 

You nodded, but immediately your tears started flowing, and you reached up with your sleeves again, trying to hide your face. He didn’t let you. His eyes looked so sweet, so worried. “Come on, we’ll go backstage. Let’s go get you a glass of water so you can calm down.”

Your lip trembled as you nodded, and allowed Brian May to lead you up the stairs to the stage, and then backstage, to a waiting area for the musicians. He sat you down on a couch that was there, and told you he’d be right back while he got you some water. As he returned with the water Roger and Adam walked in, also looking worried. You silently drank your water, not wanting to disturb anyone. You’d thank them, and then you’d get out of there. You wouldn’t even watch the rest of the concert, even though you loved them so much. But after the concert you had to get back to your home, and you didn’t want that either, you didn’t want mom to yell at you again for forgetting something she didn’t even tell you to do in the first place. You didn’t want that at all.

Brian had been standing there, quietly explaining the situation to the other band members. He came back to you, and sat down next to you on the couch, gently squeezing your shoulder. “Is something wrong? You can tell me, it’s okay.”

‘Everything is fine, don’t worry’ you wanted to say, but all you could manage was to shake your head. You shakily took another sip of your water. Roger stepped forward as well, turning to Brian and saying, “if she doesn’t want us to be around that’s okay. We’ll step back.”

Adam nodded as well. You weren’t able to say anything, it seemed, so instead you looked out in front of you, and Adam and Roger just walked away to some other room, leaving you with Brian. Brian tried again. “Listen. You can tell me if something bad is happening. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want to, and I’m guaranteed not to know anybody involved, since I’m not familiar with this place.”

You cracked. You didn’t want to burden him with your talking at first, but his offer was far too tempting and you hadn’t told anybody all of what had happened lately at all. 

“My… my mom,” you started, “she lost her job and now her and dad are fighting all the time again and she’s always super tired so I have to do everything around the house but- but when I go to work at the store my colleagues bully me because I smell bad because my mom is always smoking inside.”

You inhaled shakingly. Brian squeezed your shoulder. “And- and my father always comes home past midnight because he doesn’t want to be in the same room as my mom anymore so he usually goes straight to the bar after work but he stays there so long he gets drunk and he drives home while drunk so one time he hit a pole on his way home and when I asked him what happened to the car the next morning he slapped me.”

The room was deafeningly silent. You hadn’t been planning on telling Brian that. You hadn’t been planning on telling anyone that your father hit you. He had forced you to keep it a secret, otherwise he’d throw you out. That’s what he’d said. You had agreed. But now you broke your promise.

You started sobbing. Brian tutted and put his arms around you, resting his chin on the top of your head. You cried, knowing you were making his shirt wet with your tears. You felt so guilty, but on the other hand it’d felt so good to let it all out, too.

“I just wish I could leave,” you said, muffled by the hug, “but I need to work for months longer before I have enough money to even buy my own car, or rent a house, or something. And I wouldn’t be able to get a job either, because I don’t really have any skills and I never went to university. All I know is how to work at stores and that doesn’t pay enough to rent a house.”

Brian sighed, and nodded. His voice rumbled through your entire body as he spoke. “I’m so sorry, love. I’m sorry that you feel so bad. That must be a terrible situation to live in. Do you have any other family members or other people you can talk to about all this?”

He let go a bit and you sat back, shaking your head. “I don’t have any aunts or uncles and most of the town thinks our family is weird and gross. And the people at my job call me names.”

He bit his lip, thinking for a moment. Then, he got a glint in his eye that suggested he was about to do something he wasn’t supposed to. “Alright, listen to this. We need to do the second half of the concert in a few minutes. You can stay here and wait, or you can come back to the hall and listen to us play. Then, afterwards, we’ll meet you here, and we’ll discuss this further. Okay?” 

You nodded quickly. You didn’t know what he was planning but you weren’t exactly planning on declining an offer of going backstage made by Brian May. He patted your back. “Good girl. Shall I lead you back into the hall or do you want to stay here?”

“I want to see the rest of the concert,” you said, “If that’s alright.” 

He nodded. “Of course, of course. Come on, then.” 

He led you back to the hall and you went back to your designated place in front of the stage as the first people were starting to trickle back in, back from the break. You felt oddly calm now that you’d told your story. The rest of the concert went by in a breeze, as far as something as fantastic as a Queen concert could go by in a breeze. They played a bunch of songs that you loved, and by the time Bicycle Race came along you were singing along loudly, enjoying yourself. 

As the concert ended you started to get a bit more timid again, though. The applause was thunderous, and you clapped along, wondering what was in store for you. Finally, the band disappeared backstage, and the crowd began to dissipate too, but you stayed nailed to your spot. Eventually, you mustered up the courage to walk up the stage and towards the backstage. Nobody stopped you. Brian and the others weren’t in the little lounge area, so you sat down and patiently waited.

Brian walked in after a while, notably wearing another shirt than the one he’d performed in. He saw you sitting there, and his face lit up, and he made his way over there. He kneeled down in front of you, which you couldn’t imagine would be very nice for his aging body, but he didn’t seem to mind, as you were making perfect eye-contact now.

“I have to ask this first, before we decide anything. How old are you?” he asked. You looked at him, genuinely confused. “I’m over eighteen.. If that’s what you’re asking. I just have a bit of a baby face.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, good. Now, I have an idea, but you might not like it. So keep in mind, it’s only an idea.”

You nodded, confirming that you’d heard what he had said. 

“Alright. I was thinking that you could come with us to the next tour location. Don’t worry, you’d be able to ride in our car, and you’d get a hotel room and everything. We’ll take care of everything, so you wouldn’t have to pay anything while you’re our guest. Then, you have time to relax a bit, away from your family. And it won’t cost you anything.”

“But-” you exclaimed, “but then I’d get fired! And mom and dad’ll be pissed at me and they’ll throw me out and-”

Brian shushed you, gently, not in a mean way at all. “That’s why there’s a second plan. In case you don’t want to go back to your family, you don’t have to. You can come along with us indefinitely. We’ll give you a job in our team and you’ll be able to travel on tour with us. Doesn’t that sound nice? And after the tour ends, I’ll make sure you get a job somewhere, so you’ll be able to afford a nice house. I have connections, so don’t you worry about that. I’ll make sure everything is perfect.”

Your lip started to tremble again. It did indeed sound perfect. There was nothing keeping you in your house except the fear that you weren’t able to fend for yourself without them. But with this, with what Brian was saying, that wouldn’t be an issue anymore. “Are you sure?” 

He nodded. “I saw how upset you were and I hated seeing you like that. I wanted to help, and this is a way I can help.”

You smiled through your tears. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

There was some of your stuff at home that you’d really rather pick up first, but it was a half an hour drive there and back, and you didn’t want to miss your chance with Queen, so you followed Brian back to the back entrance of the music hall and into his car, which was really more of a limousine. There was a driver in front so you and Brian could sit in the back together. It looked terribly fancy and you felt very bad for dirtying it with your smelly clothes and just… you. But Brian didn’t even seem to notice any of that.

You tended to sit hunched over a lot, a habit you’d picked up from hiding from the world as a kid. Brian tapped your shoulder at one point, and told you you could let go of that pressure if you wanted. You tried to, but you couldn’t, not fully. But he didn’t seem to mind.

You were brought to a fancy hotel, the same one Roger and Adam were also staying at. You followed Brian into the hotel, and into the elevator. He had a room so big it was more of a small apartment, and it even had two different bedrooms so you could sleep in one of them, no problem.

You started to think about the logistics of everything, and found that you didn’t have a lot of very basic stuff with you, such as a toothbrush, or a comb, or even a change of clothes. You didn’t even have a phone charger. Luckily you did have your phone, at least, which would be handy if you ever got lost.

Brian looked excited showing you your bed, but you just felt really worried, and explained all the stuff you didn’t have to him. He didn’t look worried at all. He just said you could use the disposable hotel toothbrush for now, and if you wanted to you could use his comb. He didn’t have a change of clothes for you, because it would be weird if he owned some of your clothes, but he did have a shirt you could borrow from him for the time being, and then the next day you could go out to the next city you were going to be staying at and buy a few changes of clothes with his money. You thanked him a few times, and he waved it away each time, because he thought it was the least he could do. You disagreed, and said that you thought he was extremely generous. He told you to go to sleep, so you did.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, you woke up to a shirt neatly folded at the foot of your bed. You picked it up and saw that it was a shirt you knew Brian owned and regularly wore, a black button up shirt with multicoloured dots on it. You’d assumed he would be giving you some merch he had lying around somewhere, so this felt oddly intimate, but you didn’t dislike it or anything. You did sniff it before putting it on, too curious to resist, but it smelled like clean laundry, and not like Brian at all.

You walked out of your room and into the living room area of the huge hotel room and didn’t see Brian anywhere. You walked over to the kettle and switched it on, wanting a nice cup of instant coffee. You didn’t know where Brian was, but you assumed he would be coming back, so you stayed put for now. If he was still gone by the time people came to clean the room you would get out of there and go look for him.

You waited for the water to boil and walked around the living room area a bit. You were almost afraid to check your phone, but supposed you had to, eventually. There were several missed calls from your mom and one from your dad, too. You also had a couple of texts from your mom, which started out worried for you, but by the end of the string of texts she was calling you a whore.

Loudly sighing, you sat down on the couch, and noticed a piece of paper on the armrest next to you. It was from Brian. He had ridiculously neat handwriting. It read:

_Hey there,_

_I have to meet up with some crew and will probably not be back for a while. Sorry! It wasn’t planned but I have to. Go relax, take a bath if you want. Order room service if you’re hungry_

_Brian xx_

You smiled, and got a bit less anxious again, though you still felt a bit scared about your mom being angry. You checked the chatting app you used to chat with your siblings and other friends (though you didn’t have many) but neither of them had sent you anything. Sometimes, when you were in trouble at home, your siblings would send you updates on how your parents’ moods were, so you could choose the right time to get back from work, for example. But this time they were eerily silent. You had to have messed up badly, then.

A bath it was, then. You started drawing the bath, and while it was running you ran back to the living area to finish making your instant coffee. You put as much sugar and milk in it as you wanted (it was a special occasion, after all) and then walked back to the bathroom. The bathroom, by the way, was huge and the tub was so big probably even Brian could fully lay down in it. You left your phone on the couch, not wanting to be tempted into reading those messages again.

When the bath was filled up, you put some nice smelling shower lotion in (from one of the little complimentary bottles from the hotel) and then started taking all your clothes off to get into the bath. When you were used to the temperature you sat back down, grabbed the cup of coffee, and sighed contentedly. You hadn’t been that comfortable in ages. The water was nice and warm on your muscles, and the shower lotion smelled really nice. It was good coffee, too, even if it was instant coffee.

You washed your hair while still sitting in the tub, using a bottle of the hotel’s free shampoo, and were just about to go drain the tub and wash the shampoo out of your hair with the showerhead when you heard the front door to the hotel room open. You panicked instantly, because you had forgotten to lock the door to the bathroom, and you had no idea who it could be that was entering the room. It could be Brian, yes, but it could also be someone there to clean the room, or your parents, who had found you somehow. That last one wasn’t very probable but you were still worried about it. 

You froze, and sat in the tub without moving, covering your chest with your arms. The lower part of your body was luckily covered by the soap bubbles in the bath. You strained your ears to try and hear who was entering the hotel room based on their footsteps, but it soon became apparent that that wasn’t necessary. 

“I’m back! Are you awake yet?” Brian yelled from the little living room area. He didn’t yell very loudly, probably so he wouldn’t wake you up if you were indeed still asleep. But you were awake, so you supposed you owed it to him to answer, although you were oddly nervous. It dawned on you yet again that this was Dr. Brian May, a world famous musician, standing in the same hotel room as you. And he’d been so nice to you, too-

Brian must have seen the light coming from the bathroom as he tentatively opened the door and peeked inside, looking relieved when he saw you, and then immediately a bit uncomfortable at the fact that he was looking at you while you were in the bath. You looked down at your body, but everything was well-covered.

“Sorry.” he said, “I didn’t know you were in here. Just wanted to tell you that I’m back. We’re uh, leaving in a bit. I thought we could stop at the next town over and maybe get you some clothes of your own.” 

You nodded softly, and hoped he would be able to see it. You felt kind of dejected. You were very grateful that he was willing to get you some new clothes, but on the other hand the idea of wearing one of his shirts was very nice, too. “I’ll just.. I’ll just get ready and stuff.” 

“Alright.” Brian said, and he closed the bathroom door. You quickly rinsed off and dried your hair and body with a towel. The shirt he’d given you might not have smelled like him, but it still almost felt like a hug when you put it on. It was a bit big on you, too, which just made it feel even cozier. You cringed at the cigarette smell on your underwear and jeans but supposed it would have to do for now, as you could hardly borrow a bra from Brian.

You still hadn’t had breakfast, but you weren’t very hungry anyways, so it wasn’t a very big issue. When you entered the living room, your hair still mostly wet, Brian was on the couch on his phone, his back turned to you. It felt like such a normal situation, like you were a child coming home from school and finding one of your parents on the couch playing one of those farming simulator games. Only it looked like Brian was on Instagram.

“I just…” you started, tentatively, “I just wanted to thank you again. For um, for taking me with you, and stuff. Even though I probably look- uh… even if I probably don’t look very nice.” 

Brian tapped his phone screen a few last times and then turned around, giving you a worried look. “You look fine, what are you talking about?” 

You blushed a bit at the thought of Brian thinking you were ‘fine’ even if it obviously wasn’t meant that way. You shrugged. “Well, I’m not very attractive or anything. And my clothes smell like cigarette smoke. I don’t even smoke.” 

Brian exhaled, looking slightly dejected. “Why would that have any impact on my willingness to help you? When I was standing on that stage, I saw someone who was very scared, and very upset, and I wanted to help that person… regardless of their age, their appearance, or where they’re from.” 

You grimaced sadly. You hadn’t meant it like that. “I didn’t- I didn’t mean that you’d only help attractive people or something. I just thought… I don’t know. I don’t think that… I don’t know.”

Your face was red and you looked at the floor, not being able to bear looking Brian in the eyes. You felt thoroughly embarrassed. You were trying to thank him for helping you, but you had just inadvertently made it seem like you thought he only cared about appearances. “I’m sorry.” 

Brian gave you a sympathetic look and gestured for you to come over to where he was sitting. You did so, and he proceeded to pull you into a hug. Tears welled up in your eyes. He was soft and warm and you felt his warm breath against your wet hair as he kissed the top of your head.

“It’s alright. It’s going to be better from now on.” he said, and the way he said it filled you with so much hope you nearly started sobbing again. You didn’t know what was going to happen, but right now, with your wet hair and your borrowed shirt, with Brian’s arms around you, you felt safe for the first time in a very long time.

You were only supposed to be at the hotel for one night, and now you and Queen, as well as their entourage, were going to travel by car to another local-ish venue. Local as in that you didn’t have to fly to get there, but it was a pretty long trip, still, and you probably wouldn’t travel that way on your own unless it was really important. During the car ride, you and Brian were going to stop at a nearby city, and he was going to buy you some new clothes. You hoped- and felt a bit bad about it, that he wouldn’t butt in too much, because you didn’t want him to know which size you wore. Realistically, it wasn’t like he would suddenly drop you when he found out about your measurements, or something, but you were still self-conscious. 

Brian drove in a separate car, which had a chauffeur. You drove with him, which you didn’t mind. It was pretty cold inside the car. The air conditioning seemed to be on, which was odd because it was pretty cold outside as well, there was even snow back in your hometown. You didn’t know if there was snow around where you were now as well, because there obviously wasn’t any snow on the highway. They always cleaned that in time so the cars wouldn’t crash.

At the city, the convoy you had been travelling with drove on, while the car you and Brian were in went right, and took you into the city. You knew this city vaguely, you’d been there once or twice before in your life, with school trips and stuff like that. There was a history museum in the middle of town somewhere, although the car you were in now was taking you straight to a very expensive shopping district. You gave Brian a worried look. “I don’t need anything expensive.” 

Brian thought about it for a moment, probably considering the best way to word what he was about to say. He was kind of socially awkward, you now realized. Not as much as you were, but still a tiny bit. It made sense, as the act he put on in public was probably very different from his real self, but it still made you feel oddly close to him, the way you knew how he was when he wasn’t in the spotlights. “I’d like to get you good quality clothing. Not necessarily very fancy or expensive clothes, but, if you want clothes that’ll last long, you’re going to have to invest.” 

You nodded, reassured again. You didn’t want Brian to buy you a lot of expensive things, you’d feel far too guilty. Even if he probably had more than enough money to go on daily shopping sprees. You willed yourself to stop looking out of the window, but your eyes couldn’t help but wander to all the large brand-name stores. Dior, Tommy Hilfiger, stuff like that. You had good memories about Dior. When you were just a kid, and your parents didn’t constantly fight yet, your mom used to wear a Dior perfume. It was one of the only ‘expensive’ things she regularly bought, her little treat for herself. But as the fighting got worse, and your mom got less happy, she stopped buying anything for herself. She didn’t even seem to have any hobbies anymore.

You finally, and thankfully, stopped at a store whose name you didn’t recognize. You and Brian got out of the car, and the chauffeur drove away, promising to pick you both up when you were done shopping. You followed Brian inside, kind of half-hiding behind him. The people in the store seemed normal enough, and you quickly made your way over to a rack of hoodies, trying to think of which types of clothes were the most efficient.

“You’ll probably need a few shirts, some pants…” Brian thought out loud. You swallowed. “...a sweater, maybe? Do you want a sweater, love?” 

You blushed at the nickname. You weren’t sure what to say. “Do you... think I need one?” 

“I think you might want one of these,” Brian said, trailing over the rack of hoodies with his hand. “You seemed interested in them. Do you like these? I’ll buy you one.” 

A slight thrill went through you. The atmosphere had changed in a barely perceptible way, but you felt it, and wondered if Brian felt it too. The insistence in his voice, his drawl, and the way his finger skidded from sweater to sweater, feeling the fabric of every single one. You forgot to breathe for a moment, and started coughing. He gave you a worried look. “Are you okay?” 

You nodded. “I, um… I’d like a sweater like that.” 

You pointed at one of the hoodies. It was black, with a zipper on the front. There was a skull embroidered onto the back of it. It looked tough. It wasn’t very feminine, but you still liked it. You weren’t super feminine, anyways. Brian thoughtfully lifted up one of the sweaters, without even checking the size first. You frowned. “Are you- um, are you sure that’s the right size?” 

He shrugged. “I think it is. You’ll see when you try it on. If I picked the wrong size, I’ll get you another one.” 

You felt that same feeling again, the one you got when he asked you if you wanted a sweater. A weird hot flash through your gut, like embarrassment but different, somehow. You shuddered, and hoped Brian didn’t notice. “Alright, thank you.” 

He seemed a bit annoyed at you constantly thanking him, but he didn’t mention it, and you continued making your way through the store. There was a department with different kinds of jeans and trousers, and he made you point at the fit you preferred (skinny, stretch fabric) and proceeded to grab one from the pile without asking you what size you wore. As you made your way to the store, closer and closer to the fitting rooms, you silently prayed he didn’t guess your sizes way too small. 

As you were both browsing through shirts, Brian looked thoughtful for a moment, before approaching you. “Do you mind trying these on now? I have to go get something. The fitting rooms are that way.” 

He pointed. You nodded. “Alright! And, uh-” 

“If you thank me again, I won’t buy it for you.” Brian deadpanned. You pressed your lips against each other and nodded silently, before turning around to go to the fitting rooms. There was a woman there who led you to one of the rooms, and you locked it behind you, taking a deep breath.

First, you took your shoes and trousers off, and tried on one of the pairs of jeans that Brian had grabbed for you. To your surprise, it fitted perfectly. It had belt loops, too, so you could wear your favorite belt with it. Smiling, you kept it on to show off to Brian later. Next was the sweater, so you took your own sweater off and put the hoodie on over the shirt you had borrowed from Brian. Looking in the mirror, you felt good. The jeans were tight, but not uncomfortably so, and they made your legs look good. The sweater was a wide fit, but that was probably intentional, and not a miss-guess on Brian’s part. 

Someone knocked on the door of the changing room. You opened it up, and it was Brian, who was holding a few shirts and some other stuff. He entered the dressing room with you, which was quite spacious, thankfully. “Did I get the sizes right?” 

“It fits perfectly.” You said, failing to mask the amazement in your voice. Brian couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Good. In that case, I have some more stuff for you to try on. I’m going to go look at some other things too, for myself, so don’t worry if you don’t see me outside the fitting room when you’re done, okay? I’ll either be upstairs or on the shop’s main floor. If you can’t find me, just wait by the cash register, and I’ll come find you.” 

You nodded at his instructions. “Will do.” 

You wanted to thank him again, but you knew he didn’t like that the last time, so you didn’t. Brian went through the door again, and winked once more before walking off, leaving you alone with a few more items of clothing to try on. There was another sweater, this one of the woollen variety. The top was red, and it gradually changed from red, to orange, down to yellow. You wouldn’t have chosen it yourself, as you mostly wore black from day to day, but you had to admit it was a pretty sweater. Again, it was the perfect size, too.

There were also some shirts. A button-up, the same kind Brian tended to wear in day to day life, dark red with ivory-coloured buttons. That went on the ‘yes’ pile as well, together with the sweaters and the jeans. There was also a t-shirt, similar to the one you were wearing when you and Brian first met. It was black, and there was a black and white picture of a woman sitting on a balcony on it. That went on the ‘yes’ pile as well, because you can’t really ever have enough generic t-shirts.

After sorting a few more shirts onto two piles (there was a shirt with a rather low cut, which you wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing, so you put it on the ‘no’ pile.) you came across a few pairs of underwear.

Again, you felt that warm feeling in your stomach. Brian May picked underwear out for you. Brian May had looked at different kinds of underwear, and decided which he’d think you would like best, or maybe even what he thought would look best on you.

There was a package with a few generic underpants, with matching sports bras, but there was also a separate set that made you blush, almost afraid to touch it. There were white underpants, made of thin, soft material, with a frilly edge at the top. There was a matching bra in the same color, with a similar frilly edge, only at the bottom.

Wordlessly, you put it on the ‘yes’ pile, and gathered all the clothes up, going back out into the store to find Brian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone who has been reading this so far! I hope you all enjoy, and feel free to comment any thoughts or questions or whatever! <3 I'm posting this on private right now but I might reveal my username if I don't get bombarded with hate lol


	3. Chapter 3

Brian paid for your clothes, and you carried the bags back to the car. You noticed Brian had a bag of his own from the same store, but you didn’t ask what it was, assuming it was a dress shirt for himself, or something. When you exited the store, the car was already there waiting for you.

“Do you like the clothes you got?” Brian asked when you were back on the road. You nodded shyly. “I do. I know you don’t want to hear it, but I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done for me.” 

He smiled, and reached out with his hand, patting you on the head. You happily exhaled, feeling his hand card through your hair. “Good, I’m glad. I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable. This is all about making you feel better, alright? So if there’s anything you need, don’t hesitate to tell me.” 

You agreed, and the car drove back to the highway, to catch back up with the tour’s convoy. You tried to think of items you still needed. They would probably have complimentary toothbrushes at the hotel, so you could take one of those with you. Your hair wasn’t very long at the moment, so it didn’t need a lot of brushing, which was good because you didn’t have a comb. Other than that, you supposed you’d have to ask Brian if he could give you some money so you could go to a drug store to get yourself some stuff. 

You sat in the car, staring at your shoes, which you could see clearly because the car had a lot of legroom. Your old sneakers, with their gross, half-broken laces. The sole of your left shoe was actually coming off a bit, and you reflexively hid that foot beneath the other so Brian wouldn’t see and be disgusted. He tutted. “You also need a new pair of shoes. Remind me to take you to a shoe store next time we have a day off.” 

“It’s okay, really, Brian.” you said. “I’ve had these for years, and they’re only now falling apart, so it’ll definitely take a while before they break. Don’t worry.” 

Brian looked at you in the most peculiar way. You couldn’t figure out if he was angry or disappointed, or something else all together. Whatever it was, it made you feel scrutinized under his gaze. “Love,” he said, “why can’t you just relax and let me take care of your needs?”

Your lower lip trembled. You had disappointed him. You hated disappointing people. Back home, when you did something wrong and you saw your mother wordlessly shake her head and walk off, that was when you knew you messed up. Getting screamed at was one thing, but that silent disappointment, that ‘I’ve given up on you’ look she used to get in her eyes, that had always been the thing you could bear the least.

“I’m sorry,” you started, voice shaking, looking down, hands covering your face. “I didn’t mean to disappoint you… I want to be good for you, I really do, but I don’t know how, ‘cause back home I get… positive reactions when I’m cheap and don’t take up too much space and everything is different here and-” 

Brian’s eyes turned back to that forlorn, sad expression you so wished he would never have to experience. He pulled you into his arms, your head coming to rest on his chest as you half-laid across the car’s seats. His hands, those wonderful guitarist’s hands, large and all-encompassing, were cradling your face, stroking your back and finally rested looped around your waist. He pressed soft, barely audible kisses to the top of your hair, murmuring words of comfort. “You have been very good for me, and I’m very happy with you. The reason I looked sad isn’t because I’m disappointed, I just wish you were happier and more comfortable.”

“I wish I could do something back for you,” you sniffled. “You’ve been so nice, and I don’t have anything to offer you in return.” 

“You don’t have to do anything for me, love,” Brian said, and you really liked when he called you that. “Let’s be honest, it’s not like I’ll miss the money. Besides, it might be fun to have someone to accompany me during the tour. It can get lonely, away from most of my friends and family. Of course Rog and Adam are there, but it’s not like we spend every moment of every day together.” 

The idea of being Brian’s companion made you happy. You could hang around him and ask him how his day was, and play board games with him or whatever it was friends did together. You’d be like a groupie, or a roadie, or anything else touring-related that ended in ‘ie’. You finally started to relax against his chest a bit. “Would I make you happy if I was around to talk to you when Roger and Adam aren’t there?” 

Brian hummed, thinking for a moment. “Yes, I think you would. It would be nice to have someone else around. But… if you don’t want to be around, you don’t have to be. I can ask the tour manager to give you a separate room, or-” 

“No!” you exclaimed, surprising both of you. Brian huffed a laugh. “No? You want to be in my room?” 

His tone of voice made it clear that he was intending to tease you over this fact. You tried to deflect it with genuinity. “Yes. I like being near you.” 

That might have been a bit too forward, you realized the moment you said it. But Brian didn’t seem deterred, instead carding his big hand through your hair as he had done before. “Good. I won’t allow anything to happen to you.”

The rest of the trip was quieter. You dried your tears, and went back to looking out of the window, watching the trees flash by next to the highway. You were leaving the last snowy part of the country, and traveling down to the southern part, where it was warmer even in winter. You wondered about the sights you would see while on tour with Queen and Adam Lambert. Actually- you could look it up on your phone, because the tour dates were usually online somewhere. You took your phone from your pocket and grimaced when you saw a few more messages from your mother.

After calling you a whore the previous night, she had seemingly bounced back, using her first message to tell you just how worried she was for you, and how she hoped you weren’t hurt. Though, you hadn’t instantly replied to that one, so the next message was harsher, demanding you tell her where you are or else there would be consequences. That one had been sent while you were in the store, and your phone had been on silent all day, so you hadn’t seen it.

The third message was the one that hurt the most, though. It was the shortest out of all three, and when you read it you bit your lip, trying not to get sad again. All she had written was ‘I hope you’re lying in a ditch somewhere.’ 

You looked at Brian, who was chatting with his chauffeur, looking happy and relaxed. You didn’t want to sour his mood, but also felt like you should probably tell him about the messages you received, so he would be prepared if anything happened. You cleared your throat. “Uh, Brian?” 

Brian turned around to face you. “What is it?”

“I… my mom sent me messages. I… I think you should read them.” you said, handing Brian your phone. Brian’s eyebrows knitted together in worry, and he took your phone, but didn’t read it yet. He grabbed something out of his bag, and you were very confused for a split second until you realized that it was a pair of glasses, which he put on so he could read the messages better.

He mouthed along with the words he read as he was reading them, which you found particularly endearing. Brian, though, looked progressively angry as he scrolled through the messages you had received. “Who does she think she is?” 

“My mother.” you said, a bit dumbfounded. Brian shook his head. “What kind of mother talks to her child in this manner?” 

He handed your phone back to you, and you looked at the messages once more before sliding the phone back into your pocket.

“Of course, we might end up having to contact her regardless, if only to tell her that you’re alive. Otherwise, she might call the police, which could end badly.” Brian said, taking his reading glasses back off and putting them back in his bag. “I don’t know her, of course, but from these messages she seems to be the type.” 

“She can be really nice,” you weakly argued. “But she… can also be really mean. It depends on her mood, and what happened during the day and stuff like that.” 

“Is it a habit of hers to call you a whore?” Brian asked. You shrugged. She had done it before, and it was far from the worst thing she had ever called you. “Sometimes. For some reason she always assumes I’m out having sex when she doesn’t know where I am. Which is weird, because, you know, I haven’t even…” 

You trailed off, blushing. Brian didn’t comment on it, which you were grateful for. “That’s not normal behaviour. If my wife would ever talk to my children like that, I would be horrified.” 

You felt a pang of hurt at the mention of his wife. You didn’t know why. You tried not to think about it. “My dad’s bad, too, but just in a different way. He’s drunk super often, so he’s hard to have conversations with. He gets mad sometimes, but not at me or my siblings, usually, just at stuff in general. But he can’t really defend us or anything. I’m not sure he wants to, anyways.” 

“Oh, sweetheart.” Brian sighed. “We’ll have to think about the best way to let her know that you’re safe but won’t be coming back to her anytime soon. Until then, I know it won’t be easy, but try to relax. And don’t reply to those text messages until I say so, okay?” 

“Okay,” you agreed.

The next hotel you ended up at was just as luxurious as the last one. You were actually in the same elevator as Roger and Adam, and you shyly hid behind Brian, holding your matching paper bags with the clothing store’s name on it. Adam was checking his phone, but Brian and Roger were staring intensely into each other’s eyes, as if they were having an entire conversation without any words. Roger looked confused, and Brian was trying to calm him down. You had the uncomfortable feeling that they were conversing about you.

Roger and Adam went to their rooms, and you followed Brian into his. It was about 4 PM by now, because the drive had taken pretty long. You were really starting to get hungry, but you didn’t say anything, wanting to wait until you knew what Brian’s plans were. This room was smaller than the last room, and didn’t have separate bedrooms, which meant you would have to sleep in the same room as Brian, even if you would be in separate beds. It made you nervous. You hoped you didn’t snore. You sat down on your bed, bags next to you, your feet swinging back and forth over the bed’s edge. Brian’s stuff was already in the room. You wondered whose job it was to furnish the room beforehand.

Brian put his bag from the clothing store in a larger travel bag that was on top of his bed. He then put his reading glasses on to read something off a piece of paper. “I can’t have dinner with you tonight. We have a show. But tomorrow is our day off, so we can go out to a restaurant, if you’d like?”

You nodded demurely. You wondered what it would be like to go out to a restaurant with Brian. It would probably be a fancy place, with lots of vegetarian dishes. But you still weren’t sure what would happen today instead. “Am I coming with you to your show tonight?”

Brian frowned. “I assumed you weren’t, if I’m being honest. You’ve already seen the show once, why would you want to see it again? Don’t you want to stay back here in the hotel room? You can try your new clothes on, order room service, watch some telly, and just relax on your own a bit, without having to hang out with an old man.” 

You pouted. “I like watching you play. And listening to Roger and Adam, too. And you’re not that old.”

He laughed, and walked over to you to ruffle your hair. “You flatter me. But don’t worry, you can take tonight off. Just relax! You must be exhausted. You… did get food for yourself this morning, right?” 

He looked a bit worried again. You grimaced. “I… I made myself a cup of coffee.”

“You must be starving!” Brian said, looking kind of angry, although you might just have been imagining it. You lied, saying “I’m not hungry at all. I never eat breakfast at home, either.” 

“But we also didn’t have any lunch.” Brian said. “I’m going to order you something right now.” 

He walked over to the phone. You ran after him, shaking your head. “It’s really okay, Brian. Don’t worry.” 

Brian shook you off. “I want to take care of you. You deserve to be cared for. Now, what would you like for lunch, love?” 

He thrust the menu card at you, and you hastily read a few of the dishes, seeing as Brian had already dialed the room service number. “Um, a cheese omelet?” 

You were a bit nervous, afraid he wouldn’t accept your answer, but he looked satisfied with it, and gave your message to room service the moment they picked up the phone. You sat down on your bed, shrugging your sweater and shoes off, while Brian rifled through his stuff a bit more. He had to be at the show venue a few hours before the show started, so the band could get familiar with where they were playing and the crew could set everything up. This venue, he explained, was a lot larger than the one he had picked you up at, so the crew was treating it as more important.

There was a knock on the door, and there was the room service guy, bringing you a covered plate. He put it down on the desk in the room, and took the covering off, revealing a fancy-looking omelet on two slices of brown bread, with expensive cheese on it as well as several different kinds of herbs. It looked delicious. The man wished you a nice meal, you thanked him, and he left. You sat back down on your bed with your plate, and dug in.

It was indeed delicious. You ate your first few bites very quickly, revealing how hungry you were to Brian, who watched you eat. You looked him in the eyes, and he looked away, almost like he was embarrassed of being caught. You huffed. It was cute. It was also strange that you thought an over seventy years old musician was ‘cute’, but you pushed that thought aside for now. Brian stood next to your bed and switched the TV on for you, using the remote. As your gaze was caught by the bright colours on the screen, Brian put his free hand on your back, rubbing soft circles into it. You ate, watching the commercial break on TV, and wondered what the feeling you were experiencing was, exactly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finally setting the 'slow burn' part of the story into motion properly 
> 
> hope you're enjoying! please leave a comment or kudos if you are, they fuel me >:)


	4. Chapter 4

Brian was away for his concert, and you were alone in the hotel room, bundled up in blankets. Brian had left not long after he ordered food for you, and you were now watching TV as the sun went down outside. You had looked the concert up, and Brian was probably playing some perfect guitar solo somewhere in the city. He wouldn’t be home until midnight, you guessed, so until then you’d be all alone in your hotel room.

The first thing you’d done when you were alone was take a shower and put on some of your new clothes. You put on the black sweater, and the underwear Brian had bought for you (not the white lacy pair, which made you blush by just looking at it), and curled up in bed so you could be nice and comfy while watching TV. Brian had said that you could order anything you wanted from room service, but you were kind of nervous about doing so if Brian wasn’t around. You hadn’t received any new messages from your parents, nor had you sent them any, but you were still nervous they had found your location and would try to enter the hotel room and get you back home.

There was some romance movie from the 90s on TV. A guy got killed and became a ghost, and he continued to haunt his girlfriend so he could protect her from harm. It was sappy, and the special effects were far from great, but it was still enjoyable. You still wished Brian was there, though. You imagined sitting there with Brian, blankets around both of you, watching the movie together. His hand on your back, stroking it the way he had done a few hours earlier. 

You were starting to notice something about yourself and the way you thought about Brian. You had been in close quarters with him ever since you two met, and you found that you now craved it even if you weren’t near each other. Every time he called you ‘love’ or gave you one of those big, all-encompassing hugs, a kind of thrill shot through you. You wanted him close to you all the time. You wanted to feel his skin against yours, his calloused hands roaming your back, your waist, your thighs… 

You shuddered, willing yourself to stop thinking about him in that way. He was a lot older than you- and he was married, too! And though you knew that superstars such as him frequently partook in romantic affairs, surely he wouldn’t choose you, out of all the people he was able to have. He could have models and movie stars. There was no reason for him to settle on someone he picked out of a crowd not for their beauty but how pathetic they looked. How upset, how needy. How ugly, born into a house where nobody loved each other at all. Hungry and unloved, ran into the arms of the first man who gave you a minimal amount of attention.

You threw the blanket off of the bed in frustration. If you thought about yourself in a negative manner for too long, you’d just wind up crying again, which wouldn’t be helpful to anyone. You thought back to Brian, the way he called you ‘love’ and patted your back. How nice his hugs felt. Even if you would never be in a romantic relationship with him, he was still a very nice person to be around. You decided not to fully indulge in your crush, but you wouldn’t punish yourself for it either. You could just enjoy Brian’s company for now.

Dinner would probably be a good distraction, so you studied the room service menu and decided on a hamburger. You knew Brian was a vegetarian, and you also knew that some vegetarians didn’t like watching other people eat meat, so you would try not to eat too much of it while he was around, unless he explicitly stated that he was fine with it. He wasn’t around now, though, so you ordered what you wanted and waited for room service to arrive. You wondered how the room service people thought about you, whether they found it odd that a stranger was sharing Brian’s bedroom or if it was a normal occurrence. 

When they arrived, you only opened the door a crack first, but you didn’t recognize the man holding the food on the other side so you figured it was okay and let him in. He presented the plate with the hamburger on it in the same way your omelet had been served a few hours earlier, and left quickly afterwards. You could get used to the room service food. It was expertly prepared and tasted delicious.

It was approaching midnight, which meant Brian would be back soon. The concert ended before midnight, but you figured he might have some drinks with the crew before coming back. You tried to stay awake to say hi to him before he went to bed, you really did, but the bed was very comfortable and you were very sleepy. You didn’t even turn the TV off, and fell asleep to the sound of commercials advertising cleaning supplies and the like.

When you woke up the room was completely dark save for a small strip of light coming from the hallway door. You figured the TV shut itself off after not having been touched for a while, to conserve energy. You were lying face-down on the bed, feet against the headboard. Brian was standing in the doorway, breathing heavily. You were too tired to move or say hello to him, so you just laid there, eyes half-open, watching him stand there.

The door closed behind him, and you heard his footsteps going from the door to his bed, where he clicked the small lamp on, which was less bright than the main light. A rush of fondness went through you at the thought that he didn’t want to wake you.

You heard some rustling, which sounded like he was getting something from his bag. Then, you heard him walk towards the hotel room’s small bathroom, and start brushing his teeth. You lazily stretched yourself out and grabbed your phone to check the time. 1 AM. You rolled onto your side, too lazy to tuck yourself back under the warm blankets.

Brian returned to the room, and walked towards you, standing above you, looking down. You could faintly smell alcohol on his clothes. Just as you thought, he’d probably gone out for drinks with some of the crew. He stood above you, silently staring, for what seemed like an eternity. You didn’t move, afraid to ruin the moment. After a while, you figured he had to be gone, because of how quiet it was. But when you moved your head slightly to look up, you were met by a big, strong hand cradling your face, thumb stroking your chin. Brian shushed you. “Go back to sleep, love.” 

So you did.

You woke up early the next morning, the room illuminated by sunlight streaming in from the window. You looked to the bed next to you almost instantly, and saw Brian’s sleeping form, his blanket next to his bed on the floor. It was still very cold in the room, so it had to be early, as it warmed up pretty quickly once the sun had been up for a while. You got up out of your bed and picked Brian’s blanket up, hovering above his sleeping form.

You carefully sat down on his bed, and began putting his blanket back over him, tucking it under his side so it wouldn’t immediately slip back off. He stirred, and you froze, hoping you hadn’t woken him up. He wasn’t snoring, but he wasn’t opening his eyes, either, so you figured it was still fine. You moved back to tuck the blanket in on the other side, too, when a hand grabbed your arm and you were pulled onto the bed, lying next to Brian.

Brian released you almost immediately, and then lifted the blanket up so you could climb in under it. You did so, wordlessly, and reveled in the warmth his body gave off. He moaned a bit, rubbing his eyes. “What time is it, princess?” 

You were a bit afraid that he was mistaking you for someone else, so you tried to make your voice sound as neutral as possible. “Dunno. Early. It’s cold.” 

He laughed a bit, but because he was still half-asleep it was barely louder than a breath. “I can imagine. You must be freezing in just that sweater.”

You blushed and nodded against him, hoping he would feel it. Your side was touching his hip. Your head was on his chest, up by his shoulder. His arm was underneath you, wrapped around you so his hand could tease at your side where your sweater had ridden up just a bit. The intimacy was intoxicating. You didn’t understand where it suddenly came from, but you never wanted it to end, either. 

“I have today off,” Brian said, and you could feel his voice rumble in his chest. You leaned into him even more. “I was thinking we could go into town together. Just you and me. But there is a chance I might get recognized. Would that bother you?” 

You thought about it for a moment. Brian probably hadn’t been worried when you two went shopping for clothes together, because that had been in a small city that didn’t even have it’s own newspaper. But you were in a significantly larger city now, thus there was a bigger chance that Brian would get recognized or maybe even photographed by paparazzi. And if photos of you and him would show up online, maybe his family, or worse, your family would see them, and-

“Are you okay?” Brian asked, because you had just frozen against him. You shook your head, not knowing how to explain. 

Brian sat up a bit, forcing your head off of his chest and willing you to look at him. “What is it? Use your words, love. I can’t make it better if I don’t know what’s wrong.” 

You were scared but decided to tell him anyways. If there was anyone around who could help you and keep you safe, it was Brian. “I’m afraid they’ll… they’ll take pictures of us.”

Brian tsk’d and pressed your head back down against his chest. You inhaled, smelling his shirt which smelled like a mix of his own scent and the scent of the detergent he used. “I don’t mind being seen with you, if that’s what you’re worried about. At worst, the press will think that I’ve managed to score some young hot thing.” 

You shivered. “Thank you. But I’m also worried about my family seeing. Although they aren’t really interested in celebrities for the most part, I’m afraid they might try and come pick me up.” 

Brian’s hold around you tightened, his fingers digging into your waist in the space where your sweater had ridden up. It didn’t hurt, but it did feel like an obvious symbol of strength, dominance, almost. His face was close to the top of your head, and you felt his breath hot against your hair. “I won’t allow them anywhere near you.” 

You couldn’t help but whimper at that, and your face immediately flushed red as you hid your head in Brian’s chest, not wanting to look him in the eyes. He squeezed your side once more before letting go, but continued stroking your back ever so slowly until the hotel room’s phone rang, dissipating the moment’s odd atmosphere. Brian got up to answer the phone, and you scrambled to your side of the room, throwing on a pair of jeans, socks and your shoes. Brian was talking to someone in a cheerful manner, and his conversation continued as you quickly went into the bathroom to brush your teeth and your hair. After you found you looked presentable, you went back out, and sat on the chair in front of the desk, watching Brian talk. He hung up after a few moments, and gave you a curt smile. “It was our tour manager. He wanted to wish us all a nice day off, that’s all. Do you want to go into town?”

You still felt scared, but knowing that Brian didn’t mind if you were seen together did make you feel better. Plus you had nice new clothes now, so if you did show up in pictures, you’d look nice and fancy. Maybe your family wouldn’t even recognize you. You put on a brave face and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short chapter, but hopefully a sweet one. The next one will be longer xx hope you enjoyed! please lmk if you do/did <3


	5. Chapter 5

You went outside together. It was cold, so Brian put on a coat and scarf, and you put a hoodie on over your multicoloured sweater. The hotel called a cab for you, and you waited in the lobby until it had arrived. You asked Brian why his chauffeur couldn’t drive you, and he explained that he had given the man a day off. The cab driver didn’t seem to recognize Brian, so that was good, but you were still worried about the rest of the day.

The city you were in was quite large, and the cab driver took you straight to a square in the center of town, which was large and round and surrounded by all sorts of tiny cafes and restaurants, as well as clothing- and bookstores. It was winter, so there were Christmas decorations up already, strings of lights hanging above the streets and in the small trees that lined the square. A man dressed like santa was sitting on a bench in front of a bookstore, and there was a line of kids there to take pictures with him.

“I almost thought that was Roger at first,” Brian remarked, pointing at the man in the santa costume. You snorted, and followed Brian through the busy street. He seemed to know this city at least well enough to know where to get good food, as he brought you into a side street and straight to an adorable little mom-and-pop restaurant. An overly polite waiter ushered the two of you inside and you sat down at a small wooden table near the back, Brian’s knees bumping against yours under the table. 

Brian asked you what you wanted, and when the waiter came he ordered for both of you. Brian ordered a glass of red wine for both of you, and you tried your best to pretend to like the taste of wine, knowing the previous times you’d tried it hadn’t been very successful. Surprisingly, it was actually pretty nice. Maybe it was the company you were with, or maybe it was just really expensive.

Brian was sitting right underneath a light fixture, and it made his curly white hair look like a halo around his face. His face, which was slightly flushed due to the cold from earlier. You felt scrutinized under his friendly gaze, but in a nice way, if that makes sense. Your food arrived, a sandwich with all sorts of ingredients all neatly stacked together. Brian had some kind of salad, or something, but it looked good, even if you weren’t sure what was in it. He held his fork up to your mouth, and you bit, tasted what he had given you. Half-sour dressing. You chewed and swallowed.

It was all very date-y, and you were sure Brian was noticing it as well. You wondered why Brian wanted to spend such a beautiful winter day with you- surely he had better things to do. He’d said he wanted you to be happy, he wanted to protect you (chew. swallow.) but why? Was he truly so pure of heart that he wanted to save some poor girl out from a crowd, or did he have ulterior motives? If so, what were they? Would he ever tell you, or would you have to find out for yourself? Would you find out on time, or would you be too late? What would you be too late for in the first place?

A leaf of lettuce fell onto your plate, and you looked up. Brian was offering you another bite of his salad. He was feeding you. You ate it without questioning, swallowed it, and then frowned. “You’re feeding me.”

Brian’s eyebrows knitted together. “I thought you liked it. You seemed to like the first bite.” 

The matter-of-fact manner of the conversation made it almost absurdly laughable. But you managed to keep your composure. “I did.” 

“Okay.” Brian said, and paused. “Good.” 

You both sat together in silence for a while. You took another bite of your sandwich. There was goat cheese on it, or something. It was good, whatever it was. Maybe it was feta. Maybe it was something else entirely. You stared at your plate, and didn’t know what Brian was doing because you were looking at your plate instead of him. His knee was leaning against yours. You pushed back against it, testing, wondering what he would do. He didn’t move, so neither did you.

After you were both finished with your lunch, you decided against a dessert, and opted instead to go back outside, to brave the cold once again. It was snowing. Not a lot, but there were still tiny snowflakes falling onto the floor and sticking in Brian’s hair. You walked past the man dressed as santa again, and Brian stopped walking, asking you if you wanted to take a picture with santa.

A snowflake fell into Brian’s hair, right in the front. It was very obvious, nobody would be able to miss it, the bright white fleck distracting from his face. You reached up and wiped it off, and Brian’s smile disappeared, making place for a bewildered look. Your hand had to have been cold against his forehead. He half-picked you up in one swoop and held you against him, carding his hands through your hair. There was snow sticking to his scarf, cold and prickly against your face. You leaned into it regardless. He smelled so clean, and his breath was warm.

He kissed you where your hair met your forehead. His nose was pressed against your hair. He inhaled, and you knew he would smell the hotel shampoo you had used. You weren’t cold.

“You’re cold.” Brian stated. You nodded as quickly as you could, burying your face even deeper into his scarf. You never wanted to get out. You hoped he wouldn’t make you.

You were certain that if at any moment paparazzi would take pictures of the two of you, it would be now. But you didn’t hear the telltale snapping of cameras, nor did you see the flash go off. Dislodging yourself slightly from his grip and looking around revealed to you that nobody was even looking at you. It was like you were two normal people hugging out in the snow. Maybe… a couple, even. Two people in an embrace, hiding from the cold. You wondered if Brian was cold.

“Are you cold?” You asked. Brian exhaled through his nose, and you felt the warmth against your hair. 

“Listen.” Brian said, And he held you at an arm's length, literally, not figuratively. "Tonight I’m going out to have dinner with Roger and Adam. I would like it very much if you would accompany me.” 

You shuddered, not sure if it was because of the cold or because of the thought of going to a real, fancy dinner with the members of Queen. He looked at you, expectantly. You nodded. “I’d love to, Brian. Thank you.” 

He smiled, his smile wide and even cuter now that his nose was slightly red from the cold. You were very nervous, but also very happy that he would invite you of all people. Though you still didn’t know exactly what he wanted from you, you were sure you would find out eventually.

You didn’t go straight back to the hotel. First, you and Brian took the time to walk through the nicely decorated town, with all the christmas lights and decorated trees. On another square, there was a tiny, temporary skating rink, and you didn’t go ice skating, but you watched other people skate for a while, which was just as fun, to be honest. Your shoes were soaked from the snow, and your socks were wet, but you ignored it, not wanting to ruin the moment. Brian, though, who you were starting to get more and more convinced was a psychic, suddenly brought it up.

“Oh, right. You’ll need shoes for the dinner tonight.” he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. You were starting to worry about just how fancy this dinner was going to be. “I know just the place.” 

Brian, again, brought you to a small shop that looked far too expensive. He made you sit down on a chair in the middle of the shop and take your shoes off, while he looked around and talked to a clerk there. All the walls were filled with shelves with a few pairs of shoes on them. You took your shoes off and hid your socks deep inside of them, hoping Brian wouldn’t see how soaked they were. 

The clerk nodded at something Brian said and disappeared to the back of the store. Brian looked at the shelves a bit more, and then sat down next to you on another chair, grabbing one of your feet and putting it down in his lap. His hands were warm against your cold, wet skin. He first stroked the top of your foot, and then took the ball of your foot in his hand, massaging it. You allowed him to do as he pleased, though you personally didn’t really get anything out of it.

The clerk returned with a few shoe boxes, which he put down in front of you. He then walked over to his desk, and returned with a pair of socks that were intended for you to wear while you tried the shoes on. 

The first pair of shoes were short, black flats, which were made out of vegan leather according to the box. They weren’t the kind of thing you wore often, or at all, really, but they looked pretty nice. Not very warm, though, and if you could have any say in the matter you’d prefer to have shoes that were a bit warm, with it being winter and all.

The second pair were short boots, again with completely flat soles. These were dark brown, not black, and looked slightly more comfortable, though they were less shiny. They demanded less attention than the vegan leather ones. Brian cradled your foot in his hand and, to your surprise, rolled one of the socks onto your foot, which felt oddly intimate. You allowed him to do so, and he first slipped the black flat on, holding his hand up as a way of telling you to put your other foot in his lap as well. You did, and he put your other sock and shoe on as well. The clerk watched this like it was the most normal thing in the world. Maybe it was, and you were just touch-starved.

You stood up on slightly shaky legs. Brian told you to walk over to the mirror and see if you liked the shoes, so you did. You didn’t fully recognize yourself in the mirror. You were wearing different clothes and different shoes, like you were a different person. Sure, your face was still the same, but you usually didn’t blush as much as you were doing right now. You saw Brian behind you in the mirror, sitting on one of the chairs. His stare was intense. You twirled around, trying to see if it would get a reaction out of him. 

You walked back to him. In your excitement, you’d forgotten to consider whether or not you liked the shoes. You looked at your empty chair, and at Brian’s lap. Maybe you could sit down there, although it might just make your crush on him a bit too obvious. 

Fuck it.

You sat down on his lap, back to his chest. You heard his breath halt and continue a moment later, albeit a bit more laboured. He hadn’t told you to get off yet! You didn’t know what this feeling was, but it felt amazing. You put on an innocent face and took the shoes off, leaning forward to grab the dark brown boots off the floor. You put them on, tightened the laces at the front and wiggled once more, unnecessarily, before standing up and walking back to the mirror. This time, you were walking a bit slower, watching Brian in the mirror. His eyes were on you, too. You looked at your shoes, and back at Brian. These shoes were less pretty, but they were more comfortable. 

You stood in front of Brian once more, wondering where you should sit down, his lap or the chair. He saw you hesitate, and lightly tapped one of his thighs, answering the question for you. You sat down, feeling as much of him as you could. You were both breathing silently.

“I don’t know which pair to choose.” You confessed, after a long moment of silence from the both of you as well as the shop clerk. Brian hummed a reply and you felt his breath against your ear. “You don’t have to choose, love. We’ll get both of them.”

You shakily exhaled. His hand was on the side of your upper thigh, just lightly resting there. Not imposing, not uncomfortable in any way. Just there. His chest was against your back, warm and soft. You bit your lip. You wanted to argue yet again, that he was spending money on you that you didn’t deserve, that he’d already done so much for you, but you didn’t feel like arguing. You just wanted to feel more of him against you. Giving you stuff seemed to make him happy, so you would indulge him. Relationships are give and take, after all.

“Alright.” You whispered. You sat for a few seconds longer, before you realized that if Brian would want to pay he’d have to get up. You stood up, and Brian followed, whispering in your ear that you could keep the shoes on on your way home, and that the clerk could chuck the old pair for you. You agreed, saying goodbye to your old shoes for the last time, not even bothering to fish out the soaked pair of socks within them. Brian picked up a few pairs of socks by the register, anyhow, so it wasn’t like you wouldn’t have any socks left. As you were walking out of the door, you realized you were still wearing those fitting socks that the clerk had given you, but when you brought it up to Brian he just laughed and said that those were usually thrown out after one person wore them, anyways.

Brian ordered a cab, and you walked back to the square, where it was slowly getting darker again. It was winter, so it got dark earlier each day. The man dressed as Santa was gone, and the bookstore he had been sitting in front of had closed. All of the restaurants around were still open, though. The lights everyone had put up made it look cozy rather than lonely. Brian was holding the bags. You were standing next to him, still kind of riled up from sitting in his lap. He looked like his mind was elsewhere, too.

When the cab arrived, you allowed Brian to sit down first, and shuffled in after him. It wasn’t a big car, so it was kind of crowded with a tall man such as Brian next to you. He had the shopping bags on his right, so you were pressed together yet again, and you stared at the place where your thighs met as the car started moving. The driver was silent, and the radio was on softly, playing some christmas song you vaguely recognized.

“We… should talk,” Brian said, and you bit your lip. Maybe your lap-sitting stunt had been too much after all, and Brian was taking this opportunity to tell you that he was going to dump you at the next hotel you arrived at. You couldn’t make eye contact. You felt like such a fool, thinking Brian could ever be interested in someone like you. He was married, too. God, you were horrible. You shook your head and kept shaking it, over and over and over. You didn’t want this to end yet. You loved being around Brian, loved being with someone you had admired ever since you were a kid. You didn’t want it to end.

“No, love, not like that,” Brian said, and his hands were on you again, instantly calming you. His big hands cradled your waist and your face, and you felt like you could breathe again. You looked up at him, with big eyes and a voice you barely recognized. “Are you mad at me?”

“No, no. Of course not,” Brian said, thumb pressing into your cheekbone. You pressed against it, wanting to feel it even more. You didn’t know what you were doing. You couldn’t stop. You needed to be near him. “That’s not it at all. I just… fear I might be taking advantage of you.” 

His voice was soft, probably so the driver couldn’t hear. But the driver had the radio on loud enough that he probably couldn’t hear it even if he spoke at a normal volume. You furrowed your brow through the haze that seemed to overtake your body every time Brian touched you. “Advantage? What do you mean?”

“Yes,” Brian said, and he sounded genuinely worried. “I’m in a position of power over you. I’m much older than you, not to mention that I’m, well, famous. This makes it easier for me to… make people do things for me, because they’re afraid of the repercussions that will happen if they decline. I don’t want you to be afraid of me. If we do end up… doing certain things together, I want us to be on completely equal terms, alright? I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have any power at any point during our tryst.”

You stared up at Brian. From his perspective, you probably looked bug-eyed. Brian wanted to touch you. He wanted to do things with you. He had power over you. 

“I want to be with you.” You said, voice sounding distant, like it wasn’t really your own. Like you were hearing it through the radio, or something. But that couldn’t be it, as the radio was still playing christmas music. Brian’s hand dug into your side more, and you let out a slight groan. “I want you to have power over me.”

The moment you said it, you saw your words had an effect on him. He gritted his teeth, shuddering. He looked like he was on the verge of doing something, like pouncing, or something else. But he held it in. “Are you sure? You have to be absolutely sure.” 

Just as you were about to answer the cab abruptly stopped, and you realized you were back at the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cliffhanger because I'm evil <3 hope you're all still enjoying. love u all xox


	6. Chapter 6

You both quickly went up to the hotel room to get changed. You were looking through your new clothes, deciding which to put on, when Brian wordlessly handed you an unopened bag of clothes from the store you’d been to together. The tension in the room was palpable. 

You opened the bag and found a dress inside. It was around knee length, and a dark shade of blue that was almost black. It wasn’t very revealing at all, which you appreciated, but it was still very pretty and kind of sexy, if you were being honest. You hugged Brian, something that made you feel all hot inside, and then quickly pulled back to go change in the bathroom. 

The white, partly see-through underwear Brian had gotten you seemed perfect for the occasion. Your fingers shook slightly as you took your other underwear off and put the new, soft ones on. They were made of a ridiculously light fabric that almost made it feel like you were wearing nothing at all. The chiffon hugged your chest and nether regions in a comfortable manner. You felt pretty. You felt wanted. You quickly pulled the dress over your head and looked at yourself in the mirror, realizing for the first time in months you didn’t hate the way you looked. 

Shakily, you walked out of the bathroom to go put socks and shoes on. Brian was standing by his bed, buttoning his shirt, but he paused when you walked in, and slowly looked at you from your feet up to the top of your head. His mouth hung slightly open as he regarded you, wearing the clothes he bought you. You glanced at him, not quite making eye contact, and subtly cocked your hips to the side, in an attempt to show your outfit off further. You heard him audibly exhale, but he didn’t make a move, so neither did you.

Shyly, you moved over to your bed to go put your socks on. The tension was palpable, and you felt Brian’s eyes burning into your back as you slipped a pair of long, black socks on, followed by the shiny black shoes Brian had gotten you. Fully dressed, you put your hoodie on and sat on the bed waiting until it was time to leave. 

Brian didn’t dress up very fancily, but he wore a black button-up that suited him very well, combined with a normal, if a bit tight pair of jeans. You didn’t mind what he wore, though. He was handsome in just about anything. You watched him straighten his clothes out, and you could see he noticed, but still, neither of you said anything. It felt like a big crescendo could come at any minute now, something big and loud and explosive that would change the relationship between the two of you forever.

There was a knock at the door, and the tension fizzled away as Brian did a funny little half-sprint to get to the door as fast as possible. Roger Taylor was standing on the other side of the door, grinning. He and Brian shared a look, and they both simultaneously moved their head to look at you. You squirmed under their gaze a bit. They were clearly very in tune with each other, though you supposed that was inevitable after playing music together for so long.

“Are you two lovebirds ready to go?” Roger teased, and you immediately became flustered, looking at your feet. Brian let out a bit of an annoyed noise, and you heard Roger chuckle. Brian walked over to where you were sitting and laid a hand on your shoulder, which made you look up at him. He looked genuine, if a bit worried about you. “Don’t worry, love. He’s just teasing me.” 

You quickly nodded and stood up to follow him outside. You rode the elevator downstairs with Roger and Brian and downstairs Adam was already waiting in front of the car that was going to take you to the restaurant. It was a fancy car, far fancier than the vehicles you had driven in so far since joining the crew, so to say. The car was long, a bit like a limousine, and it was this strange cream colour that made it look expensive, like a nice cup of coffee. Roger and Adam weren’t in tuxedos either, or anything, but it was clear that everyone had at least put something nice on for the occasion, so you were happy with the dress Brian had given you.

The inside of the car was even fancier, somehow. The interior was also some kind of beige shade, and everything was shiny. The chairs in the car were across from each other so you could easily talk to each other, and there was even a minifridge. You sat down next to Brian, and Adam sat across from you, with Roger sitting across from Brian. Roger opened the minifridge and took a bottle of water out of it. The car started to drive.

Roger and Brian made a bit of small talk, and Adam was clearly texting someone, at one point giggling after he got a particularly funny message. You didn’t have your phone with you- you’d left it at the hotel on accident, still in the pocket of the pants you had been wearing. Since you couldn’t distract yourself with your phone, you became extremely aware of the fact that Brian’s thigh was touching yours. Brian barely seemed aware of it, happily chatting with his colleagues, but you felt hot all over. At one point, Adam looked up from his phone screen, saw your expression, and smirked at you before going back to what he was doing. You blushed, wondering what Roger and Adam knew of the situation. Maybe this was commonplace, and Brian had a habit of taking lovers while on tour, so much so that Roger and Adam seemed comfortable with it. Your face reddened even more. Brian’s lover? Was that what you were? The two of you hadn’t even kissed yet…

As the car drove deeper into the city, at one point driving past the square you and Brian had hugged on, Brian’s arm slid around your waist, pulling you against him. Brian was telling Roger some kind of anecdote, and Roger laughed, making eye contact with you and then cocking his head to one side. “Is she okay?” 

Brian squeezed you against him again, and you hid your face in his chest, breathing in his smell and almost instantly calming down. “Are you okay, love?” 

“Hhhgh.” you murmured nonsensically, burying your face in his shirt. You felt him chuckle, and he continued his conversation with Roger as if you weren’t there. It shouldn’t have been as hot as it was. “Where’s Spike?” 

“Oh, he got called away for something with the venue last-minute,” Roger explained. “I did invite him.” 

“Good lad.” Brian said, and you weren’t sure if he was referring to Roger or whoever Spike was. Your grip on Queen lore was clearly not as developed as you had assumed it was. Well, you would have plenty of time to learn more now. That thought made you feel all giddy, and you giggled, which caused Brian to pat your hair. You still didn’t exit your hiding place, though, and continued listening to Brian and Roger’s conversation. “I can’t help but be curious.” 

“Oh?” Brian asked in response to Roger’s question. You heard Roger shift in his seat, though you didn’t see anything. “Yes. What is all this- I mean, I’m hardly one to complain, but you haven’t done this in a while. I’m surprised.” 

You felt Brian shake his head, and he patted your head again. “I’m not sure either,” he said, sounding genuinely a bit lost. “This hasn’t happened to me in years. But… she’s… I don’t know, there’s just an attraction between us. I see her, and all I can think of is wanting to touch her.”

You shivered, and Brian chuckled again. You felt it reverberate through him. “You like that, love?” 

“...Yes…” you confessed, though it was muffled through his shirt. He bent down to kiss the top of your head. Roger hummed. “She isn’t your regular type.” 

You felt hot at that comment. It was laid out so casually, the way they were discussing your physical appearance as if you weren’t there. There was something undeniably dominant about the way they talked, as if you simply weren’t at their level, and thus weren’t expected to take part in the conversation, even if it was obviously about you. Brian made a similar humming noise. “Maybe so. But she is real pretty, isn’t she? The hair, the... curves,” 

At the ‘curves’ comment he squeezed at your waist, and you couldn’t help but moan softly. You didn’t know what was happening to you. How could one man have such an effect on you? None of his touches so far had been explicitly non-platonic, yet you felt hot all over, squeezing your thighs together as Brian’s hand moved up and down your side, caressing you. Sometimes he’d inch surprisingly close to your ass, but then his hand would quickly move back up, as if to say ‘no, not yet, but later.’ 

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.” Roger said. “She’s a looker. Don’t you think, Adam?” 

“What?” Adam asked, though you couldn’t hear him very well over the sound of the car’s engine. “Hmm, sure. She’s young though, isn’t she?” 

Roger barked a laugh. “There we were, skirting around it, and you decided to just go for it.”   
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing,” Adam said, and you heard him put his phone away. “If anything, a bit of young energy is just what this band needs. You play any instruments?” 

He was asking you. You didn’t answer just yet, because Roger was laughing again. “Are you seriously saying- listen, if we recruit every young thing we take a liking to into the band, we’ll have over a hundred members soon.”

You giggled, and moved your face a bit to look at Adam and Roger. They were both looking at you, and they both looked friendly. “I took piano classes in elementary school,” you said, “But that’s about it, I’m afraid.”

“Piano, that’s good.” Adam said, looking at Roger and then back at you. “Why’d you stop?” 

“Um, well, I got one of those electronic keyboards,” you explained, voice wavering a bit. The undivided attention was making you a bit nervous, but you couldn’t help but revel in it a bit as well. “and it was really loud. So I got headphones, but you could still hear me playing through the headphones. So my mom and dad made me throw it out.” 

Adam and Roger’s smiles faltered. “Why?”

“It was loud.” you reiterated, not fully understanding the question. “They could hear it in the other room.” 

Roger frowned, and you sat up, confused. Brian’s hand lingered around your waist. “Surely they understood you had to practice.” 

You huffed a laugh, still not sure how to explain something this obvious. “Of course they understood that. They’re not stupid. They just didn’t want to listen to it.” 

Roger and Brian made eye contact, though you weren’t sure what their expressions meant. The car finally stopped in front of the restaurant, and Brian and Roger exited first, followed by you and finally Adam. The driver took off, and you were left on the beginning of a long, red carpet that led straight into the restaurant’s front door. Brian waved you over, and when you walked up next to him he hooked his arm into yours before leading you inside. It all felt delightfully fancy, even if you tripped at one point while walking inside.

The men had a reservation for a private table in the back of the restaurant, in a smaller room that only had a few other tables. One of the other tables was also taken, by what looked like a family having dinner together. The rest of the room was empty, however. Brian sat down and you sat down next to him. Adam was next to you, and Roger was next to him and Brian again. A waitress entered and Roger stood up to kiss her on the cheek, clearly having met her before. She gave everyone a menu and left again.

The menus were actual bound books, without any pictures. The names of the foods were in what looked to be French or Italian, but luckily there were translations into English underneath. Roger already knew what he was going to order, so he put his menu down again. Adam quickly chose as well, leaving only you and Brian. You peered at the list of different foods, not knowing what half of them were. You didn’t really want to order a steak while next to Brian, but you also didn’t know if you’d like a lot of the other stuff. Nervously, you flipped to the next page, where the drinks were. At least you’d know what you wanted to drink if they asked. A cola. Luckily, they sold those everywhere, even in mega-fancy restaurants.

“Do you know what you want yet?” Brian asked. You giggled nervously, not being able to think of a convincing lie soon enough, even though you were pretty worried about being made fun of. “I don’t know what most of this stuff is. What does it mean if something is sautéed?” 

“It’s like frying but different.” Adam said, which really didn’t clear anything up. Brian gave you a sympathetic look. “I can order for you, if you’d like. Do you eat meat?” 

You looked down. “I do, but I don’t have to if you don’t want to see me eat meat in front of you.” 

Roger laughed. “You don’t need to coddle him, love. That’ll just make him soft.”

In a daring moment, you stuck your tongue out at Roger, which just made him laugh harder. You grinned to yourself, satisfied with his reaction. The other members of Queen were less intimidating than you had thought at first, though you were still not as comfortable with them as you were with Brian. Though, your intense crush on Brian probably didn’t really help with that either. You also enjoyed the way Roger called you love, too.

Brian cleared his throat, and you looked at him. He held his hand out for your menu and you gave it to him. He put yours on the pile with his and put it down on the table in front of him. “I’ll order for you. Don’t worry.” 

A shiver went through to you once again. You heard Roger jeer from across the table.

The waitress came to the table again, and chatted with Roger for a bit before taking everyone’s order. When it was your turn, Brian quickly cleared his throat to get the waitress’s attention with a, “oh, she’ll have the …”

You weren’t sure what he ordered, since the name of the dish was in French, but you trusted Brian. He also ordered a bottle of red wine for the table again, and you were starting to think that red wine was probably his favorite. You filed it away in the back of your head in case you’d ever have to get him a gift. Roger cheered when the waitress brought wine out for everyone, and everyone also got a small plate with a weird little appetizer on it. It was a small piece of toast, with what the waitress explained was a ‘vegan salmon jelly’ on top of it. It didn’t exactly sound delicious to you, but after you saw both Roger and Adam eat it in one bite, you decided to do so as well.

It tasted surprisingly good, and the waitress grinned a bit when she saw your face. “We get that a lot. A lot of people assume that jelly can only be sweet, but our savoury options are also quite popular.” 

You nodded, finding this information pretty interesting. You had been to restaurants before in your life, but this was another level of fancy. You tapped your new shoes on the floor a bit, looking around you. You caught Adam’s eye, and he grinned at you. You smiled back, and then looked away, a bit flushed. 

There were three courses, not counting the weird jelly thing. First, you got a plate with a small piece of bread on it, as well as an expertly stacked, partly fried miniature salad. Everyone got the same one, so you assumed that was just something people automatically got, rather than something Brian explicitly ordered for you. You usually didn’t like salad too much, but you had to admit it was rather good. After you finished the first course and had to wait for the second one, you spent the time by reaching one of your legs out to where Brian was and rubbing his leg with the side of your foot. You felt him change positions, so you just kept going, until you suddenly felt Brian’s hand on your ankle, gently squeezing. You responded by pulling your foot back, taking your shoe off and quickly putting your foot back where it was. Brian made an appreciative humming noise and massaged your leg as you stroked his.

According to Adam, who was explaining the logistics of the restaurant to you, you got a small drink in between courses called a ‘spoom’, which was supposed to cleanse your palate for whatever you were going to be eating next. This time it was a glass of champagne with strawberry sorbet ice cream mixed into it. It tasted really good. You noticed most courses at the restaurant were pretty small, which you were grateful about. There were a lot of courses involved, and if the meals were any bigger you probably wouldn’t be able to finish them.

The main course turned out to be lobster. You gasped audibly when the waitress put it down in front of you, and both Roger and Adam looked very pleased with Brian’s choice for you. You gave them a few worried looks, because you’d never eaten lobster before and you had no idea how to start. Luckily, Adam was there yet again with some advice.

“Okay, first you eat the tail. Don’t worry about using your hands, that’s what it’s for. No, don’t bite into it so hard! You’ll hurt your teeth.” Adam dictated, as you tentatively brought the lobster’s tail to your mouth and tasted it, attempting to consume it. Roger saw the panicked look in your eyes and couldn’t help but laugh, to which you glared at him.

Finally you looked over to Brian, who was staring, mouth hanging slightly open. You put the tail in your mouth once again and sucked, the soft meat entering your mouth. Throughout this, you kept up eye contact with Brian, even as you chewed, swallowed and licked your lips to get rid of the buttery residue.

After this display, you mostly kept to yourself while eating, occasionally getting tips and advice from Adam, which you were grateful for. As your plate was brought away again, you realized you hadn’t even noticed what Brian had eaten for his own main course. After you received another glass of champagne, this time with banana sorbet in it, you reached your socked foot out to Brian yet again, and he responded by stroking his hand up and down your lower leg ever so slowly, until you felt yourself get all hot inside. The effect he had on you was amazing, the way his smallest touches could make you feel like you were melting into a puddle. Actually, the white see-through underwear Brian had bought you was starting to get slightly damp, and you squirmed in your seat, not sure what to do with yourself. 

Your glass of wine, which you hadn’t managed to finish, was removed from the table, and replaced with a tiny cup of expensive black coffee. Roger and Adam were chatting with each other, and you had scooted your chair slightly closer to Brian’s, so your leg could comfortably lay on his lap. He kneaded your calf, like a masseur would, and you wouldn’t be surprised if he’d taken a massage course sometime, because you actually felt relaxed after he finally released your leg back onto the floor. Desserts were served as well, slices of creamy caramel cheesecake, and you bent down to put your shoe back on. When your head came back up Brian was holding his fork out for you, with a bite of cake on it. You ate it off, closing your eyes in pleasure at the delicious flavour. You understood why people went to expensive restaurants now.

When you opened your eyes, heavy-lidded in pleasure, you made eye contact with Brian, and he looked back at you, a similar expression on his face. You shakily exhaled. He put some more cake on his fork and brought it to your mouth again, and you ate it, chewed, and swallowed.

“You should try it as well,” you said, voice soft. Brian’s face was close to yours. He said nothing, just fed you another bite, and you took it, closing your eyes again and breathily moaning. If someone were to ask, you could technically tell them it was because of the food, but you and Brian both knew that wasn’t the case. Brian grabbed your arm so hard it hurt, and stood up, pulling you with him. You walked through the restaurant at top speed, barely able to keep up with his long strides, until you were back in the car, where Brian pushed you into the couch cushions.

You fell back, hitting your head against the soft fabric. As you fell, your legs fell splayed out, one on the couch, one on the floor. Brian towered above you, before bending down, pressing his body fully up against yours, covering you completely. He enveloped you, making you feel simultaneously safe and excited. His expression was unreadable. His breath was hot against your mouth. He leaned in and kissed you.

If you were to die right then, you would have died happily. His mouth was incredibly soft and warm against yours, and you immediately opened your mouth, giving him better access. It wasn’t even a conscious decision, just another sign of the power he had over you.

His tongue pressed against your lips, and you moved against him, kissing him back. He tasted like the champagne they had just served in the restaurant. You moaned, and he pressed his tongue in deeper, tasting you on the inside.

When he pulled back you were panting, staring up at him, wide-eyed. He was breathing heavily too, but he had an expression on his face that you could only describe as a smirk. He licked his lips.

“Delicious.” he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> hope you're all enjoying!!! they finally kissed!! woo! yeah! also I hope my adam and roger characterization is a bit good cuz I am terrible at writing irl people I swear to god. thank you all for your continued support, it really keeps me motivated to write <3


	7. Chapter 7

His lips were slightly dry, but as you kissed it gradually became smoother and smoother until you were comfortably laying together, legs entangled, tongues licking into each other’s mouths. His hips pressed down against yours, and you felt slick wetness leak into your knickers. You exhaled, a shaky little whine leaving your lips. Brian made a pleased little humming noise and kissed you again, trying to make you make that same noise once more.

He moved back a bit and you found yourself staring into his eyes. He looked happy, a dopey grin on his face that you were probably mirroring. You giggled, and he kissed your face, first your cheek, then your forehead, then the tip of your nose. Soon, you were audibly laughing, and so was he.

That’s the way Roger and Adam found the two of you, lying on the car’s couch and kissing each other, taking occasional breaks to giggle. Roger scoffed. “Their adoration for each other is sickening.”

Brian reluctantly pulled away from you, sitting up a bit. You followed, hiding behind him still clutching at his shirt and touching him wherever you could. Your mind was swimming.

“Piss off, Rog. We’re young and in love.” Brian said, though with no real malice, putting an arm around you. You gratefully hid your face in the crook of his neck. Roger barked a laugh. “I see ‘in love’. But young? Are you sure about that, old man?” 

You nuzzled at Brian’s neck, pressing soft kisses to the underside of his face. The words ‘in love’ kept repeating through your head. In love. In love. Brian was… in love with you? It sounded a bit far fetched. There was some kind of attraction there for sure, but you weren’t sure if ‘love’ was the right word for it. He liked you, that was for sure, no matter how hard that was to believe, like, conceptually. He was attracted to you, too. 

You didn’t really want to think about it further, afraid you’d start doubting yourself again. Sometimes you spent so much time worrying about things that you forgot to enjoy yourself. And here you were, right now, leaning heavily against one Brian May, still out of breath from kissing him. You needed to relax, so you tried your best to do so.

“I don’t feel a day over thirty.” Brian said, and both you and Roger started laughing at that. Adam was holding your coat, which he gave to you. Roger was holding Brian’s, but instead of giving it back he sat down on the couch in the car and put Brian’s coat down beside him. Your face lingered in the crook of Brian’s neck, not wanting to let go just yet. You felt like you were on fire, and you shivered, even though you weren’t even cold. Brian tutted and took your vest out of your hands, draping it over your shoulders before allowing you to lean on him once again. You did so, gladly.

The car started driving again. Your mind was clouded with vague thoughts about Brian- particularly him doing things to you that you would never be able to say out loud without blushing. The drive went by fairly quickly, with you leaning on Brian heavily while he absently stroked your arm and occasionally pressed kisses to the top of your head. He and Roger had a conversation, but you didn’t really catch what they were talking about, too lost in your own thoughts. 

When you arrived back at the hotel you vaguely noticed Brian saying goodbye to Roger and Adam, and afterwards he took you to one of the elevators. The moment the doors closed and he pressed the button to your floor he was on you, backing you against the wall and kissing you deeply. You didn’t even get the chance to moan or gasp for breath as he crowded around you and thrust his tongue into your mouth. Breathless, you weakly grasped at his shirt, trying to simultaneously get closer to him and get him off you so you could breathe. You keened, a soft, desperate noise, and you heard Brian chuckle before pulling back. He straightened his shirt, and just as he was back to being presentable the doors opened.

You followed him into the hotel room, still slightly breathless. It was kind of cold in the room, and dark, too. The only light was coming from underneath the door to the hallway after Brian closed it. He didn’t switch the light on just yet, and you both stood in the room’s tiny hall, looking at each other.

“You have a rather profound effect on me, love.” Brian said. He didn’t do anything yet, just stood there. Maybe it was your turn to move now, seeing as he had kissed you the previous times.

You giggled, not able to help yourself. You felt incredibly giddy. “I…”

“What is it?” Brian said, sounding a bit mocking, but not in a mean way. More like he was a teacher, or something along those lines, trying to get you to say ‘may I’ instead of ‘can I’. “Use your words, love.” 

“I…” You didn’t know what to say. You looked at the ground, face flushed red and grateful that Brian wasn’t able to see it. “I… want you to touch… me.” 

You wanted him to undress you, to claim you, to make you his. For him to push you onto the bed and fuck you fast and hard. You wanted it to hurt, so you’d feel it the day afterwards and remember that it had been Brian May, the Brian May, who did it to you. “...Please?” 

Brian embraced you in a tight hug, but his hands quickly moved lower on your body, smoothing out your dress and then pulling it up so he could cup your ass through your underwear. Out of surprise, you moved your hips forward, and felt a hot hardness in his trousers. Waves of arousal pulsed through you, and you thrusted against him again, hearing his breath hitch.

“Fuck, darling. Can you feel what you do to me? How…” he pushed against you. You put your arms on his back, trying to get him closer to you. In a surprise move, he half-picked you up, his erection sliding against your wet panties. “..how hard you make me, baby? Can you feel that?” 

You nodded, and when you realized he wouldn’t be able to see it, you attempted to speak. “...Yeah.” 

Immediately afterwards you thought that the question was probably intended to be a rhetorical question. Brian didn’t seem to mind, though, as he just cupped your chin and pulled you into a harsh kiss. Your back met the wall, and you moaned into the kiss, a high-pitched, breathy little noise that got Brian to thrust up against you with renewed vigor. 

“Christ.” Brian said, in between kisses. He sounded out of breath. Your mouth chased his as far as you were able to go. “We need to move to the bed or I’ll come right here.” 

It was odd to hear Brian say something that dirty, even though he had just been talking about how hard he was, somehow the word ‘come’ was what did it for you. Embarrassingly, you couldn’t help but laugh, which led to Brian giving you a confused look. You put your arms around his neck and kissed him a few times, short, surface-level kisses interspersed by giggles. You couldn’t help it. Brian brought you to bed and by the time you were lying on your back and he was on top of you you were both smiling at each other. 

The light was still off, but the light from street lights outside made it so you could just about make out Brian’s facial expression. He smiled at you, and you smiled back, though your smile quickly turned into an open-mouthed look of surprise when Brian grabbed your thin white panties and tugged them down in one quick swoop. Your folds were glistening with moisture, and Brian stared hungrily for a moment before he leaned in and liked at your clit, first a few tentative licks before he closed his mouth around it and sucked, wetly. He did this a few times, until your thighs were trembling and you were struggling not to make any unexpected moves. It was like he was kissing you, filthy and open-mouthed, only down there.

After a few licks to your clit, occasionally moving up to kiss you pubic mound, he took one of his fingers and moved it up and down your folds a few times, gathering your slick on his finger before pressing it into your entrance. His finger felt large inside of you, though when he quickly crooked his finger upwards, making you moan, your initial discomfort was soon forgotten. 

He continued licking your clit, sometimes moving down to stick his tongue into your hole, gathering your juices and swallowing them. You were a mess, dress hiked up, hair standing on end and thighs trembling. You could feel your climax rapidly approaching. You attempted to bat Brian’s hands away, to do something, so you wouldn’t embarrass yourself by coming so soon. The look Brian gave you was one of mischievous glee as he pinned your hands down next to your sides and resumed his assault on your throbbing clit. 

One more lick of his talented tongue and you came, hands being pressed against the bed, thighs shaking around Brian’s face. He looked gleeful, smiling widely as he watched you writhe in pleasure. And you were writhing indeed. Your thighs were moving of their own accord, and you were breathing heavily. 

Brian stood up, next to the bed, groaning a bit as he moved his weight from one knee to the other. Then, he stood up, regarding you laying on the bed in front of him, disheveled and panting. You wondered if he was going to fuck you, take his cock out and ram you onto it, thrusting into you until you both reached your peak. But he didn’t, and once he spoke you were suddenly glad he hadn’t. 

“Are you on birth control, baby?” Brian asked, breathless. You shook your head, because you weren’t, and you hadn’t even considered it until then. In high school sex ed, you’d always been taught that if you wanted to have sex, you needed to use condoms as well as birth control, to make sure there wouldn’t be any unwanted pregnancies. Though when you made an off-handed comment about having learned about it in school, your mom had gotten weirdly angry, telling you that birth control was for sluts. And that was that. You’d never really thought about it since. 

His expression was one of understanding, rather than disappointment, which made you feel quite safe. You hadn’t thought he would force you to do anything, but it was nice to have it reiterated regardless. “That’s okay,” he said. “We probably should’ve discussed this beforehand, anyways.” 

You nodded, and then shrugged, trying to indicate that you didn’t really care. This seemed to amuse Brian, who laughed in that way that made his eyes wrinkle up all cutely. You allowed your head to fall back against a pillow, resting a bit. You’d never come that hard in your life before, and he’d barely even done anything. You couldn’t really imagine what it would be like if he were to fuck you, outright, but if it would be anything like this you were certain you’d beg him for it.

You closed your eyes. Your dress was still curled around you, although it was pulled up to your waist by now. You wanted to pull it down and cover yourself, but your arms and legs felt like they were made out of jelly, and all you really wanted to do was sleep. You squeezed your eyes for a few seconds before willing yourself to open them and look at Brian.

Fuck. Brian was sitting down on the bed, his trousers undone and his hand down his underwear, stroking his erection. He had a large dick- there really wasn’t any way around that fact. It was thick, and long, and flushed red with arousal. There was white, wiry pubic hair growing all around the base, which you would’ve expected to be disgusted at, though on him you just thought it was hot. You stared, albeit through heavy-lidded eyes, and Brian noticed, grinning at you.

“You don’t have to do anything, love. Just lay back and I’ll take care of it,” he said. You made a soft noise of disapproval and moved to sit up anyways, feeling your thighs glide against one another wetly as you positioned your body so your face and hands were in reach of Brian’s cock. He continued stroking himself, and you tentatively reached a hand out, lightly stroking over the head with your pointer finger. Brian stopped what he was doing, and when you looked up you realized he was watching you, amused.

“You’ve never seen a cock in real life before, have you, sweetheart?” he mused, and you nodded sweetly, blinking up at him. “I wanna help.” 

Brian regarded you as you curiously leaned in close, wrapping your hand around his cock. It was warm, and you tried to replicate the pumping motion Brian had been using on himself moments before. You felt him sigh, and he allowed you to do what you were doing for a few more moments before he started giving you pointers. “You can squeeze a bit harder there, doll. Yeah. Good job.”

You smiled at the praise and continued doing as he instructed. He hissed, and egged you on, with a “That’s good. Oh, fuck. Your hands feel perfect around my cock. I bet your pussy would feel even better, though.”

You scoffed, wanting to make a cheeky comment, but you didn’t really feel like you had the energy for it. Instead you stroked him a few more times, rubbing up to the tip and then moving back down. When the glide stopped being as smooth you paused, spitting on your hand before continuing. 

When you looked up you saw his face contorted in pleasure. His eyes were closed, and his eyelashes were fluttering. He was panting too, slightly, his mouth hanging half-open. You resumed your stroking, leaning in closer and looking at the tip. It really was quite beautiful, which might have been an odd way to describe it, but that was how you felt. The entire organ was flushed pink, but it got darker the closer it got to the tip. The tip was leaking a thick white fluid, which mostly collected at the tip itself, although a few stray droplets had made their way down to where your hand was around Brian’s cock, stroking up and down.

Licking your lips so they wouldn’t be too dry, you leaned down and pressed your mouth to the tip of Brian’s cock, licking at the slit and tasting his precum. It tasted salty, with the added taste of his natural scent, insofar as one could taste a smell. You’d heard girls at school talk about how gross cum was, but now that you yourself were tasting it, you honestly didn’t find it that bad. Maybe Brian was an outlier, though.

You pulled back a bit, still stroking along the length, and then leaned down with renewed vigor, taking the tip into your mouth and kissing it, open mouthed, mirroring what Brian had previously been doing to you. He had to have been very close already, as this was what made him come undone, spurting hot cum against your face and mouth. You pulled back in surprise, and the second spurt landed on the bed sheet. Since you had let go of Brian’s cock, he himself resumed his stroking for a few moments until he himself fell back onto the bed as well, sighing in relief. 

You sat in front of him, dazzled, mouth and part of your cheek still covered in cum. Tentatively, you reached your tongue out and licked a bit of it off your lip, tasting the salty liquid. It was rapidly cooling on your skin, though, so you wiped the rest of it off with the bedsheet before moving your body up to where Brian was laying, your face next to his on the pillows. His eyes were closed, but when he felt you move he blinked and looked at you. 

“That was… wow. Sorry for not warning you beforehand, I wasn’t expecting you to…” he trailed off. You smiled, moving so you could lay your head on his shoulder. He reached up and carded his hand through your hair a few times. “You were brilliant. Thank you, love.”

You didn’t really know what to say, and you were quite tired from all the exertion, too, if you were being honest. So you remained where you were, thoughtlessly enveloped in Brian’s arms, not thinking about anything except how relaxed you felt. You only moved when you heard Brian’s breathing get slower and more even, realizing he had fallen asleep. You carefully extracted yourself from his arms and walked into the hotel bathroom, taking off your dress and throwing it on the ground as you did.

In the bathroom you looked at yourself in the mirror. It was strange, the pale white light in the bathroom making you feel like you were in a hospital, or something like that. Your skin was still flushed, and there was a noticeable wet spot in your underwear, so you squeezed your thighs tighter together, before you realized that nobody was watching and you stood normally again. 

You felt like you were looking at a completely different person. This person in the mirror, wearing lacy underwear, who just lost her virginity to Brian May, was not the same person you used to see in the mirror every morning when you brushed your teeth. It couldn’t be. That person was scared and insecure, as well as generally unattractive. You still wouldn’t call yourself hot now, but… you looked happy. You’d never really thought about it like that before, but the big satisfied smile plastered onto your face did indeed make you look generally more approachable.

Huffing, you went to go brush your teeth, before you left the bathroom again, dimming the lights and slipping back into Brian’s embrace. Tomorrow the two of you would probably have a serious conversation about your budding relationship, and what it meant for your future. But for now, you could just rest your head against his shoulder and sleep. So you did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for how long this took, I got hit by writers block + just general depression (which is always nice... not) but!! here it is. sorry if you guys were expecting more, but there is more to come. I just feel like they would have a serious conversation about it beforehand. Brian strikes me as someone who would be caring in that regard, I guess. How are you guys? Had fun holidays? I'll try to update again soon. xx


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mostly plot in this chapter, with a bit of roger and adam <3

You woke up the next morning with a face full of Brian’s long, white curls. You pushed them off of your face, and sleepily looked around the hotel room. Brian was still asleep, softly snoring beside you, and on your other side the window was letting light fill the room. It was pretty bright, so you figured it wasn’t very early anymore. Dazed, you sat up, loudly yawning while Brian stirred. On the other side of the bed you could see the stain Brian had left behind on the sheets, and your heart skipped a beat when you remembered that everything that had happened the previous night was real. 

You looked back at Brian, who was at this point little more than a pile of curls laying next to you on the pillow. You could hear he was waking up as well, although he was taking his time, savoring the warmth underneath the covers. You shivered, because it was indeed quite cold in the room outside of the blankets. Your dress from the previous night was still on the floor, and you picked it up but decided that today a sweater and a pair of trousers would have to do. If you wore the same dress every day it wouldn’t be special anymore, after all.

Brian mumbled something while you were pulling your sweater over your head. You turned around, and saw him blearily watching you get dressed, a goofy smile on his face. “Good morning.” 

His voice was quiet and still a bit scratchy. You flashed him a grin. “Good morning, Brian.” 

You went to go put your trousers on as well, but Brian came up behind you where you were sitting on the bed and put his arms around you, leaning on you. His chest was warm against your back, and he half-pulled you back to the bed, losing your trousers again in the process. Having arrived back at the headboard he put the blanket back over you and proceeded to pull you into an embrace, kissing your neck and collarbone.

“It’s- I think it’s pretty late. Do you have anything planned for today? Before we get, uh, distracted…” you mumbled. Brian hummed, continuing to kiss you, moving back up until your mouths met in a lazy morning kiss. You hadn’t even noticed how cold you were until he shared his heat with you.

Eventually Brian pulled back, catching his breath and bumping your foreheads together in a show of affection. “The lads and I are going to practice today. So we can’t go do anything today, I’m afraid, love. But it’s not super important either, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal if we got there a bit later than expected.” 

You kissed Brian again, once, and then pulled back, getting out from under the covers and moving back to where your trousers were bundled up on the ground. “You want me to come with you, then?” 

“Sure, sure.” Brian said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Adam quite enjoys having someone closer to his age around, I think. And Roger… well, he’s just happy to see me happy.” 

You smiled, putting your trousers on. “That’s sweet. But if that’s the case, then we really shouldn’t be late, or he might not be able to see you at all.” 

Brian huffed, pretending to be annoyed. “Are you ordering me around, missy?” 

You shot him a fake innocent look. “Why, d’you want me to?” 

You both smiled and went on with what you were doing. Brian got dressed as well, and he showed you the way to the place where he and the boys would be practicing for the upcoming shows. It was kind of weird to imagine them practicing, as you’d kind of assumed they wouldn’t need to- but looking back on it it was obvious they would have to practice, too. On the way there you both got a sandwich to go, and Brian gave you his scarf to wear so you wouldn’t catch a cold in the crisp morning air

Queen + Adam Lambert were allowed to practice on the same stage they were going to give their shows on. A few people you knew worked on the tour were there already, and all the musical instruments were set up on the stage already as well. Brian directed you to a spot in one of the front row chairs, and you nestled into the soft chair while Brian went backstage.

While you were waiting for them to begin, you looked up how to get birth control, but not before checking that nobody could see your phone screen. When you were sure they couldn’t, you looked it up, and groaned out loud when you found out you were going to have to get in contact with your family doctor. It was something about how they didn’t want to give you any medicine without her knowing, so she could check if there were any risks in your specific case. You understood, but it still sucked. 

You knew your family doctor well enough, because she was the GP of almost everyone in the town you lived in. You even remembered her coming over for dinner a few times when you and your siblings were really young and your father didn’t drink as much yet. This didn’t exactly give you a lot of hope. You knew she technically wasn’t allowed to tell your parents anything about your medical business now that you were over eighteen, but you also knew that people don’t always tend to stick to the rules. And she and your mom had always seemed to be good enough friends.

You decided you’d discuss the birth control debacle with Brian before doing anything. With a bit of a nervous feeling in your stomach, you put your phone away and looked up at the stage. Brian was nowhere to be seen, but you could see Adam and Roger chatting with another man you didn’t recognize. Thinking, ‘why not,’ you got up from your chair and walked to the stage, leaning on it and looking up at them. Adam noticed you and walked away from the conversation he was having to help you up on the stage.

He stuck his hand out, and you took it, pulling yourself up with his help. You grinned at him. “Hi, Adam.” 

“Hello,” he said, cocking his hips and smirking at you. “So, did you and Brian have a good night?” 

Flushed, you looked at the floor and nodded. Adam started laughing, and when you shot him a confused look, he tried to stop himself. Giggling a bit despite himself he shook his head. “No, there’s nothing wrong with it, I just- I guess those stories about old rockers are really true, that they’re…” 

He trailed off. You snorted a bit, feeling somehow more like Adam’s equal than Brian and Roger’s, probably because of the smaller age difference. “What, promiscuous?” 

Roger came walking up, roughly patting Adam on his back. He faced you. “Is this young man bothering you, ma’am?” 

Adam stuck his tongue out at Roger, and you started giggling, still a bit nervous about where you were and who you were with. The man the two had been talking to had moved behind a keyboard in the corner of the stage and was now turning a few dials on it, occasionally emitting a low-pitched noise from the speakers. 

“I was only asking her how her night with Brian was.” Adam said, scoffing. Roger tutted. “She doesn’t have to tell you things like that if she doesn’t want to. Just because she decided to be with Brian doesn’t mean she signed up for all of” he gestured around him, “this.” 

“It kind of does, though,” Adam argued, turning to you. “I mean, it’s not just a one-night stand thing, right? Otherwise you wouldn’t be here now. He obviously wants to share more than just his bed with you.” 

You shrugged. “It started as him helping me get away from my family. I dunno what’s happening now, exactly. It’s all going a bit fast… but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it.” 

Roger smiled, patting you on the shoulder as he had just done with Adam. “That’s good to hear. And, hey, if there’s ever anything you need help with- doesn’t need to be related to Bri, I mean anything, just come to me or Adam, yeah? We both want to help in any way we can. You’re not alone in all of that business with your family, okay?” 

To your embarrassment, this sentiment nearly moved you to tears. Sniffling a bit, you nodded and muttered a soft ‘thank you’ after which he squeezed your shoulder once more, before moving back. Brian walked back onto the stage and Roger turned around to talk to him. Adam nodded at you once more, reassuring you, before following Roger to where Brian was.

You didn’t really know whether Brian expected you to come to him, so you kind of awkwardly lingered in the same spot for a few more seconds before taking a few hesitant steps towards where the band was standing.

“...I don’t know how I’ll handle that bit yet. With a bit of luck, I won’t have to.” Brian said in response to something Roger said. Roger shot him a look that seemed to mean ‘are you serious?’ and Brian rolled his eyes. “Hey, I hadn’t expected this to happen either. I’m in way over my head.” 

“Which is odd, what with how tall you are and all.” Adam commented. Brian looked at him and just sighed. Then he noticed you, and he immediately perked up, which made you feel all happy inside. “There you are, love. I want to introduce you to a few people, if you don’t mind.” 

“We’re already late,” Roger whined, but Brian ignored him, moving towards you and maneuvering you over to the man standing behind the keyboard. When you arrived at your destination, Brian put an arm around your side, casually, and you waited until the man was done turning the dials. “Love, I want you to meet Spike. He’s our background pianist on this tour.” 

Spike was a tallish man who was almost completely bald. He looked up from the dials and nodded at you both, sticking his hand out, which you shook. He had a tight grip, which you assumed was a pianist thing. 

“Nice to meet you,” you mumbled. Spike went back to his dials. 

“So, you’re the new side piece?” He looked up and winked, before going back to what he was doing. “Kidding, kidding. Brian told me about your deal with your parents- that really sucks. I hope it gets resolved soon.” 

You nodded. “Yeah, uh, me too. Thank you.” 

Brian led you back to the main part of the stage, and you saw Roger was already sitting behind his drums, though Adam was still standing next to him and talking. Brian walked over to where his guitar was standing on a guitar stand, next to a few other kinds of guitars, which you assumed were either backup guitars or bass guitars. But there was only one that clearly looked like the Red Special to you.

“Is that the real Red Special?” you asked, not able to keep yourself from saying it. Brian smiled, clearly pleased with your interest, and picked the guitar up, pulling the safety strap over his head. “You know, there are actually several Red Specials. I don’t bring the original one with me on tour anymore, but I have a few very well-made replicas, and this is one of those. Look at that, you can barely tell the difference.” 

He moved the guitar around in front of you a bit, and you watched the stage lights reflect off of it. Awestruck, you reached out and ran your finger along the strings. It wasn’t plugged in yet, so it didn’t make any noise, but you still gleefully looked up at Brian, who looked just as happy as you felt. 

“It’s beautiful… I can’t believe I got to touch it. There must be a lot of fangirls very jealous of me right now.” You said. Brian plugged his electric guitar in, and strummed. A few strong notes played out of the speakers around the stage. “Don’t worry about them, love. I chose you.” 

He chose you. The idea made you giggle like a maniac, and you bravely stood up on your tiptoes to give Brian a quick peck on his cheek, after which you moved back and climbed back off the stage. The rehearsal was really starting now, so you’d have to postpone the birth control conversation until later. While you listened to Adam doing his vocal warmups, you checked your texts to see if anybody from back home had contacted you. They hadn’t, which you were pretty grateful about. That was at least one less thing you had to worry about.

Queen sounded brilliant even during their practice, but you hadn’t really expected anything else, to be honest. Roger even did one of his songs (I’m in love with my car) for which he got out from behind the drums and stood on center stage, playing one of the guitars that were standing on stands on the stage behind them. You sat in your comfortable chair, watching them play, and applauding them whenever a song ended. 

By the time they were done they were all a bit sweaty and out of breath, and you went to the concert hall’s little cafe to get something to drink. Spike was there, too, and so were some other guys, but it was obvious that Roger, Adam and Brian were trying to include you in the inner circle. It made you feel included, which made you happy.

On the walk back, it was less cold than the previous day. It wasn’t snowing anymore, but there was still some snow on the ground from the last few days. You walked past a square where some kids were building snowmen. You saw a man pulling a sled with his grandchildren on it down the street. You pulled Brian’s scarf tighter around yourself. “Brian?” 

“Hmm?” he asked.

“I was…” you really didn’t want to talk about this, but you kind of had to. “I was researching how to get birth control, but according to the internet you need a prescription for it, and I can only get one from my family doctor. I could call her, but she’s kind of mates with my mom, so she might, you know… tell on me.” 

Brian sighed and nodded. “Ah. That’s not ideal.” 

“It isn’t. But I really wanna, you know… do this for you- and not just for you, I mean, for us, so…” You trailed off.

“Do you think it’s worth the risk?” Brian asked. “Of course, her telling your parents about what you’re doing would be a blatant breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, but I do know that is common in small towns. So… what do you want to do?” 

“I want to do it.” you said, resolutely. “But I’m also pretty scared.” 

“Do you want me to be in the room with you when you call? Maybe hold your hand? If your family comes here, the lads and I’ll make sure they won’t be able to come near you, you know.” Brian said. You nodded, though you weren’t fully reassured. “I would like that.” 

“Okay. we can do it when we get back to the hotel room. I thought maybe tonight we can order in and just enjoy a bit of private time together.” Brian said. You smiled. “That sounds nice. Thank you, Brian.” 

“Of course.” Brian said, and he put an arm around you which he kept there as you walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you're still enjoying! there'll be more smut later in the story, I promise, but the birth control issue does need to be resolved first because Brian is a gentle lover and he wouldn't want Reader Character to get hurt or in trouble in any way <3


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